Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, 80, has defended
the use of military courts to try civilians - following an outcry over the
arrest and trial of opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
His 68-year-old rival has been charged in a military
court with possession of pistols and attempting to purchase weapons abroad -
accusations he denies.
Besigye, who was abducted while visiting Kenya last
month and forcibly taken to Uganda, found out on Tuesday that he would be
spending Christmas in custody as his trial has been delayed until January.
Museveni said any crime involving a gun was dealt with
in a military court to ensure the country's stability as civilian courts took
too long to deal with cases.
Hundreds of civilians have been tried in Uganda's
military courts, even though the Constitutional Court has ruled against the
practice.
"I have seen the arguments in the papers by some
lawyers regarding the correctness of some civilians being tried in the Court
Martial," President Museveni said in a long post on X.
He said his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party
had enacted a law through parliament in 2005 to allow the use of military
courts because of the "rampant activities of criminals and terrorists that
were using guns to kill people indiscriminately".
"The civilian courts were clogged with the many
court cases of the whole country: murders, rape, assaults, robbery, land
matters, divorce matters etc, etc. They could, therefore, not handle these
gun-wielding criminals quickly. Yet, for stabilization you need speed," he
said.
Besigye has objected to being tried by a court
martial, saying that if there were any charges against him, he should be tried
in a civilian court.
A fierce rival of Museveni, he has contested and lost
four presidential elections against Uganda's leader, who has been in power
since 1986.
He has been less active in politics in the last couple
of years, and did not contest the 2021 election.
The veteran politician - who was once Museveni's
personal doctor - has been arrested dozens of times in Uganda but never
convicted.
Earlier this year he announced he was returning to the
political fray to help sort out his party, which has split into two factions.
Activists and rights groups have rallied behind him,
condemning his treatment as unfair.
"Civilians tried in Uganda's military courts do
not receive the same due process guarantees as those in civilian courts,"
UN human rights chief Volker Türk said.
There are reports that his arrest had been planned for
months.
Human Rights Watch has urged the Ugandan government to
end the "weaponization of military detention" and the trial of
political opposition leaders and their supporters.
But Museveni said the East African nation was
justified in using court martials.
He ended his statement with this praise for them:
"You have made your own contribution to our peace."
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