Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law an amendment that will allow, once again, civilians to be tried in a military court under certain circumstances.
A previous law permitting such trials was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in January.
Before that ruling, civilians could be taken to a military tribunal if they had been found with military equipment like guns or army uniforms.
Activists had complained that the law was used to persecute government critics.
Parliamentarians passed the amendment last month amid a heavy police presence and a boycott by opposition lawmakers, who argued that it violated the ruling by the country’s highest court.
In January, the judges said that the military courts were neither impartial nor competent to exercise judicial functions, the International Society for Human Rights reported at the time.
The amendment appears to try and address some of the issues.
It says that those presiding over the tribunals should have relevant legal qualifications and training.
It also says that while performing their legal functions they should be independent and impartial.
But civilians can still be transferred if found with military hardware.
For years, activists had argued that the military courts were being used by the government to silence dissidents, with people alleging that evidence had been planted.
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