Isaac Ssemakadde, the newly-elected President of the Uganda Law Society (ULS) has issued a strong statement regarding the controversial trial of Olivia Lutaaya and other civilians before Uganda’s General Court Martial.
In his message, Ssemakadde has addressed the significant public attention surrounding the case and highlights concerns over the militarization of Uganda’s justice system.
Ssemakadde’s statement comes at a time when the trial of civilians in military courts has sparked widespread debate and concern among the legal community and human rights defenders.
At the heart of Ssemakadde’s argument is a broader critique of Uganda’s judicial system, which he says has increasingly fallen under military influence.
“Olivia Lutaaya and other civilians similarly situated are victims of a compounded state failure for which the permanent solution is demilitarization of law enforcement and administration of justice in present-day Uganda,” Ssemakadde states.
He stresses that it is time for Ugandans to collectively speak out, declaring “Enough is enough” in defense of justice and the rule of law.
The trial of Olivia Lutaaya has brought to light Uganda’s use of military courts to try civilians, a practice that Ssemakadde views as a violation of the country’s 1995 Constitution.
Drawing on his earlier writings, including “The Supreme Court has an Owiny Dollo Problem” (published in The Observer, November 2023) and “Judicial Accountability is a Vein Concept in Uganda” (published in The Daily Monitor, March 2024), Ssemakadde asserts that military tribunals lack the safeguards guaranteed by civilian courts, undermining the independence of the judiciary.
He argues that these tribunals represent a significant breach of Article 129 of Uganda’s Constitution, which establishes the structure and authority of the judiciary. The continued trial of civilians in these courts, he contends, reflects a broader failure of the justice system to adhere to the rule of law.
This has been a major point of contention, particularly in cases like those of Olivia Lutaaya and other civilians who have been tried by military courts under the UPDF Act.
Legal experts, including Isaac Ssemakadde, have raised concerns that using military tribunals for civilian cases violates Uganda’s Constitution and human rights standards, as it allows for the militarization of justice in situations where civilian courts should have jurisdiction.
In December 2022, Uganda’s Constitutional Court ruled that trying civilians in military courts is unconstitutional. The court determined that the UPDF Act, which had been used to justify these trials, violates the 1995 Constitution, which reserves civilian cases for civilian courts.
The government has appealed the decision, and the Supreme Court is currently deliberating on the matter.
