NUP Accuses DPP of Defying Supreme Court Ruling on Civilian Trials in Military Courts

The National Unity Platform has accused the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of failing to comply with a Supreme Court ruling ordering the transfer of civilian cases from military courts to civilian courts, saying hundreds remain unlawfully detained more than a year later.

The National Unity Platform (NUP) has accused the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of failing to transfer criminal files involving civilians from military courts to civilian courts, more than a year after the Supreme Court ordered the move.

In a protest letter dated May 18, 2026 and addressed to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the party said the continued detention of several of its supporters and other civilians amounted to a “travesty of justice” and a violation of constitutional rights.

NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya said the Office of the DPP had failed to comply with the Supreme Court decision delivered on January 31, 2025, in Constitutional Appeal No. 2 of 2021, Attorney General v Michael Kabaziguruka, which directed that civilian cases be transferred from the General Court Martial to competent civilian courts.

“Over four hundred and seventy days since the said judgment in Constitutional Appeal No. 2 of 2021, Attorney General v Kabaziguruka, hundreds of Ugandan citizens remain arbitrarily detained in prison on the basis of court martial proceedings which the Supreme Court effectively nullified,” the letter reads in part.

The party further claimed that 40 detainees who attempted to seek bail from civilian courts had their applications rejected because the files had not formally been transferred by the DPP.

“The detainees who have applied for bail from civilian courts pending transfer of their files have been denied the same on the premise that the civilian courts to which they ran for reprieve do not have the jurisdiction to determine their bail applications,” the letter states.

NUP also alleged that some detainees were being approached by officials attached to the newly constituted General Court Martial and asked to record fresh statements indicating that they committed offences in 2026, allegedly as part of efforts to recharge them before the military court.

“We have learnt that many of them are now being approached by officials of the newly constituted General Court Martial asking them to make fresh statements falsely indicating that they committed alleged offences in 2026 with the view of charging them afresh before the said military court,” the party said.

The opposition party argued that the continued delay by the DPP’s office had left the affected individuals in legal limbo, saying they were neither before military courts nor civilian courts.

“The continued failure of your office to comply with the said Supreme Court’s explicit orders is neither justified nor justifiable. No matter their political opinion or gravity of the accusations against them, these citizens remain presumed innocent since they have not been convicted by any competent court,” Rubongoya wrote.

NUP is now demanding that the DPP either drop the charges against the affected individuals or immediately transfer the files to civilian courts as directed by the Supreme Court.

“Specifically, we request that you drop the charges against these individuals in light of the incurable violation of their right to a fair hearing, or immediately transfer their cases to civilian courts as the Supreme Court directed,” the letter adds.

The party also requested a meeting with the DPP’s office “at the earliest opportunity” to discuss the matter in the public interest.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had not publicly responded to the allegations by press time.