Ugandan opposition seeks to nullify law on military prosecution of civilians

Uganda's biggest opposition party on Wednesday filed a case in the constitutional court to nullify a newly enacted law that reinstated the right of military tribunals to try civilians, a lawyer and party official said.

The Supreme Court proscribed the prosecution of civilians in the tribunals in January, saying they lacked legal competence to conduct criminal trials in a fair and impartial manner.

George Musisi, lawyer for the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), said the party had filed a petition to quash the new law which parliament passed in May and Museveni signed a month later.

"They violated all the processes that they should follow while passing laws," NUP's secretary general Lewis Rubongoya told reporters outside court, citing a lack of sufficient public consultation.

Military praises law