Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, 80, has defended the use of military courts to try civilians, following protests against the arrest and trial of opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
His 68-year-old rival was accused before a military court of possessing pistols and trying to buy weapons from abroad, charges he denies.
Besigye, who was kidnapped while visiting Kenya last month and forcibly transferred to Uganda, discovered on Tuesday that he will spend Christmas in custody because his trial was postponed until January.
Museveni said that any crime involving weapons is dealt with in a military court to ensure the stability of the country, as civilian courts take a long time to deal with such cases.
Hundreds of civilians have been tried in Ugandan military courts, although the Constitutional Court has ruled against the practice.
“I have seen the arguments presented in the newspapers by some lawyers regarding the health of some civilians being tried in the military court.” President Museveni said in a long post on X.
He said his party, the National Resistance Movement, passed a law through parliament in 2005 allowing the use of military courts due to “the rampant activities of criminals and terrorists who use weapons to kill people indiscriminately.”
“The civil courts were overwhelmed with so many cases before the courts across the country: murders, rapes, assaults, theft, land matters, divorce matters etc., etc. Therefore, they could not deal with these armed criminals quickly. However, he said: “Achieving stability requires speed.”
Besigye objected to being tried in a military court, saying that if there were any charges against him, he should be tried in a civilian court.
He is a fierce competitor to Museveni. He ran in four presidential elections and lost them to the Ugandan leader who has been in power since 1986.
He has been less active in politics in the past two years, and is not running in the 2021 election.
The veteran politician – who was once Museveni's personal doctor – has been arrested dozens of times in Uganda but never convicted.
He announced earlier this year that he would return to the political fray to help organize his party, which had split into two factions.
Activists and human rights groups rallied behind him, condemning his treatment as unfair.
“Civilians tried in Ugandan military courts do not receive the same due process guarantees as those tried in civilian courts,” said Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
There are reports that his arrest had been planned for months.
Human Rights Watch has urged the Ugandan government to end “the use of military detention as a weapon” and prosecute political opposition leaders and their supporters.
But Museveni said the East African country was justified in using military courts.
He ended his statement with this praise for them: “You have contributed to our peace.”
