The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) spokesperson, Sharon Arach has called upon all opposition actors and Ugandans to stand up, unite, and condemn the trial of civilians in military court.
Arach made these remarks while addressing the members of the press at Uganda House in Kampala on December 4, 2024, saying that this call is not just for politicians but for everyone.
“Let all of us come out and condemn all this. As opposition we are about to suffer, and if you don’t condemn what has happened to Dr. Kizza Besigye, then keep in mind that you are also a candidate for the court martial,” she said.
She expressed her disappointment in the East African Community and the Kenyan leadership for keeping silent on such an incident.
“We condemn the way Besigye was arrested; very few members of the East African Community, including Kenya, have come out to condemn these acts. No matter the circumstance, someone has the right to be tried as a civilian,” Arach added.
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Earlier on Thursday, November 21, 2024, the Uganda Human Rights Commission chairperson, Mariam Wangadya, criticized the manner in which the arrests were conducted and questioned their legal justification.
“I call upon the state to drop the charges against Dr. Kizza Besigye and Hajj Lutale Obeid in the Court Martial. Their arrest on foreign soil in such a secretive manner was uncalled for,” she said.
Besigye and the co-accused Kamulegeya are not the first civilians to appear before the military court; many have been charged, and in the case of Micheal Kabaziguruka, the former MP for Nakawa division, the Constitutional Court held a decision that the General Court Martial has no power to try civilians, though this still continues to happen.
