Ugandan activists demand release of an opposition leader facing military trial

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KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan opposition leaders on Monday demanded the release of a colleague whose military trial faces a legal challenge after the top court ruled that civilians can’t be court-martialed.

Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate in the East African country, has been in jail since his abduction from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he went missing on Nov. 16.

Days later, Besigye and an assistant appeared before a military tribunal in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, to face charges related to illegal possession of a firearm and threatening national security. Besigye has since been charged with the more serious offense of treachery, which carries the death penalty.

Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled last week that civilians can't be court-martialed, questioning the competence of untrained military officers to dispense justice. The ruling was welcomed by Besigye’s supporters and other legal activists who saw it as timely and a way out for him to escape a possibly punishing military trial.

“Besigye is in Luzira now illegally," said opposition lawmaker Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, referring to the maximum-security prison.

Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago, an opposition figure who is a close associate of Besigye, said Ugandans “are duty-bound to enforce" the court's decision.

Museveni, an authoritarian leader who has held power since 1986, said in a statement following the court’s decision that “the country is not governed by the judges.”

Oryem Nyeko, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the Supreme Court’s decision is a major step to protect the right to a fair trial in Uganda. He called on the government to "finally ensure justice for the many civilians wrongly convicted under these military trials as well as those awaiting trial.”

Besigye was expected to appear before the military panel again on Monday but the hearing did not take place, with heavy police and military deployment outside the court premises.

Besigye, 68, has faced arrest and assault many times in his political career but has never been convicted of a crime.

Amnesty International also called for Besigye’s release, saying his “abduction clearly violated international human rights law and the process of extradition with its requisite fair trial protections.”

Besigye's troubles are being watched closely by Ugandans anxious over political maneuvers ahead of presidential elections next year. Although Museveni is expected to seek re-election, some observers believe he may step aside.

Museveni has no obvious successor within the ranks of the ruling National Resistance Movement party, one reason for widespread fears over an unpredictable political transition.

Besigye, a qualified physician who retired from Uganda’s military at the rank of colonel, is a former president of the Forum for Democratic Change party, for many years Uganda’s most prominent opposition group. He is a fierce critic of Museveni, for whom he once served as military assistant and personal doctor before they fell out in the 1990s over what Besigye said was Museveni’s slide into authoritarianism.