Govt tables revised UPDF Bill

KAMPALA - Defence minister Jacob Oboth-Oboth has tabled the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Amendment Bill, 2025 for its first reading in Parliament. 

The Bill proposes wide-ranging reforms to the legal framework governing the UPDF.

Oboth confirmed that the Bill had met all necessary requirements and presented a certificate of financial implications issued by the finance ministry. 

The certificate outlines the potential budgetary impact of the proposed law, including cost projections and revenue implications. 

However, the Bill’s introduction faced opposition from the Leader of the Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi. 

Citing Article 92 of the Constitution, Ssenyonyi argued that Parliament cannot pass legislation that overturns a court decision. His objection stemmed from a recent Supreme Court ruling on the jurisdiction of military courts. 

The ruling in Constitutional Appeal No.2 of 2021, Attorney General vs. Michael Kabaziguruka, affirmed the unconstitutionality of trying civilians in military courts. 

The court ruled that the General Court Martial (GCM) lacked the independence and impartiality required to guarantee fair trials for civilians. 

Members of Parliament during plenary on Wednesday. (All Photos by Miriam Namutebi)

The Court declared that sections 2, 119, and 179 of the UPDF Act, which provided for the blanket trial of civilians in military courts, are unconstitutional and null and void. 

It clarified that the GCM is not a subordinate court but a disciplinary tribunal with limited jurisdiction over UPDF members concerning service-related offences. 

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, who chaired the sitting, overruled Ssenyonyi’s objection, stating that it was premature to debate the Bill. 

She clarified that discussion would follow the presentation of a report by the joint committees on legal and parliamentary affairs and that of defence and internal affairs. 

Among directed that the committee on legal and parliamentary affairs will lead the process, chaired by Stephen Mugabi Baka. 

He will be deputised by Wilson Kajwengye, the chairperson of the defence and veteran affairs committee. 

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among

This latest version of the Bill follows the Government’s withdrawal of the UPDF (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which had been introduced in December 2024. 

That earlier Bill was pulled out in February 2025 after the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) parliamentary caucus decided to act on the Supreme Court’s decision. 

The legal fraternity remains divided over the issue. Jude Byamukama, a lawyer with J. Byamukama and Co. Advocates, criticised the continued push for military jurisdiction over civilian cases, particularly those involving illegal firearms. 

Byamukama questioned whether this logic could extend to other crimes like terrorism or aggravated robbery that also involve firearms. 

Citing the case of Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde, who was tried for eight years in a military court before receiving only a caution, Byamukama called for stronger safeguards in the legal process.

Kiryowa Kiwanuka, Attorney General during plenary.

Court Martial structure 

The Bill proposes an overhaul of the military court system, beginning with the General Court Martial, which will now be chaired by an individual qualified to be appointed as a High Court judge and holding a military rank not below that of major general. 

Previously, the law required only that the chairperson hold a rank not below that of colonel, without specifying judicial qualifications. 

The General Court Martial will also include two senior officers who are advocates of the High Court and two additional civilian advocates of the same court. 

All members will be appointed by the High Command in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and will serve three-year terms, renewable upon reappointment. 

Persons aggrieved by the court martial’s decisions will have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal, and where the death penalty is imposed, it will require confirmation by the Supreme Court before being carried out. 

Where a sentence of death is imposed by the General Court Martial, the sentence shall not be executed until the expiration of the time within which notice of intention to appeal against conviction may be given and if notice of intention to appeal is duly given, the sentence shall not be executed until the appeal has been determined or abandoned,” the draft reads. 

On the independence and impartiality of military courts, the Bill states: “The members of the court martial shall in the performance of their judicial functions be independent and impartial and shall not be subject to command.” 

Military court personnel who commit offences under the Act or any other law will also fall under the jurisdiction of the military court system.

New Unit, Division Courts

The Bill proposes the establishment of unit court martials for each military unit. 
Each will be chaired by an officer with a Bachelor of Laws degree, a postgraduate diploma in legal practice and a rank not below that of captain. 

The unit court will include the administrative officer, political commissar, regiment sergeant major, one junior officer, and one private, all appointed in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission. 

The unit court martial will have the authority to try offences punishable by a maximum of five years. 

A separate division court martial will be chaired by an officer not below the rank of lieutenant colonel, who is also an advocate of the High Court, and will have powers to try offences excluding those punishable by death.

New structures 

The Bill further proposes the formal establishment of the High Command, the Special Forces Command and the Joint Military Command. 

The High Command will comprise the President (as chairperson), minister of defence, ministers of state, permanent secretary, service commanders, and individuals who were members of the High Command on January 26, 1986, provided they haven’t been convicted of a crime, renounced Ugandan citizenship, or joined partisan politics. 

A new position of deputy chief of defence forces and Inspector general of defence forces is also proposed. 

This officer will oversee the Special Forces Command and their pay and allowances will be determined by the High Command.

Minister justifies reforms 

On Monday, Oboth-Oboth said the 2005 UPDF Act had become outdated and the reforms are critical to aligning the law with current realities and court rulings. 

“The amendments are meant to streamline the composition of the organs and structures of the defence forces, provide for the autonomy of the management of pensions of officers and militants, establish a healthcare service for officers and militants, establish the medical board and to provide for the definition of service offences, Court Martial, Military Court and Reserve Force,” he said.

Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi presents during plenary.

What the Bill says 

If enacted, the Bill will subject not only members of the defence forces, but also civilians found in unlawful possession of firearms or military equipment to military law and trial by court martial. 

Specifically, the Bill states that a civilian will fall under military law if they are caught possessing arms, ammunition or equipment typically restricted to the defence forces. 

The law will also apply to civilians who aid or abet military personnel in committing grave offences such as murder, aggravated robbery, kidnap with intent to murder, treason, or misprision of treason. 

Additionally, any civilian found wearing, selling, or possessing UPDF uniforms without authorisation, will also be liable under military law. 

Those who commit such offences will be treated as militants of the rank of private, unless they hold a revocable certificate from a commanding officer assigning them a higher equivalent military rank. 

For former military personnel, the Bill provides that they shall, for purposes of trial, be deemed to retain the last rank held before their discharge. 

The Bill lists 40 types of arms and 26 types of ammunition classified as exclusive to the UPDF.