Justice Musa Ssekaana has said

Bazibu, who is based in Entebbe, deals in real estate.

Ssekaana, the head of the Civil Division of the High Court, ruled today that Bazibu was unjustly and unlawfully transferred from Kitalya Government Prison to Makindye Military Police Barracks. Yet he is a civilian and should not be subject to military law.

The judge’s remarks follow a suit Bazibu filed against the Special Forces Command (SFC), Inspector General of Police (IGP), Chief of Military Intelligence and Attorney General in January 2021, challenging his detention in Makindye Military Police Barracks.

Ssekaana has thus ordered that Bazibu be immediately transferred back to Kitalya Government Prison or any other civilian prison.

“Persons detained on suspicion of committing criminal offences under military law need to be protected from the unfamiliar detention of the military establishment,” said the judge.

It has noted that civilians in military courts have their due process rights disrespected in violation of international law, adding that there are serious human rights abuses in military courts.

These abuses are characterised by ill treatment, torture and incommunicado detention, extraction of confession under torture, verdicts issued without explanation, ostensibly arbitrary sentences and not much room for appeal.

Bazibu’s lawyers are Umar Lukwago and Elizabeth Kodil.

The businessman’s detention has become a long-running saga punctuated by appeals and pleas which have fallen on deaf ears, four months ago the businessman requested the army court to expedite his trial.

He said his drawn-out detention in the army facility is illegal and denying him his human rights, Bazibu even tried to secure bail but this attempt also fell flat.

It also appears that the army court seeks to extend his detention with no clear end in sight since it has fixed court dates which it has subsequently cancelled.

According to Bazibu’s lawyers, the case file has never been forwarded to the Uganda People Defence Force (UPDF) Chief of Legal Services, Brig. Gen. Godard Busingye, for perusal and counsel and this has led the case to drag on for all this time.

However, prosecution says Bazibu has a serious case to answer and alleges that he, on November 11, 2020, while at Bugembe-Gembe Kasengeje in Wakiso district, was found with one round of AK47 ammunition, whose use is limited to the UPDF.

When found in possession of the said ammunition, plainclothes personnel arrested Bazibu on October 31, 2020, at Okello House in Kampala, where he had gone to attend a meeting, court records reveal.

Bazibu was first arraigned at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence Unit Disciplinary Committee (UDC) in December 2020, after Justice Emmanuel Baguma ordered security agents to bring him to court without fail.

In 2021, the Constitutional court ruled that the Army Court Martial has no powers to try civilians.

In a majority ruling of 3-2, the court ruled that although the Court Martial is a competent court under the 1995 Constitution, it is not independent and often does not assure a fair trial so it should be limited to dealing with the discipline of serving officers within the UPDF.

“Emphasizing that the jurisdiction of the General Court Martial is limited to the provisions of the UPDF Act by necessary implication means that its jurisdiction does not extend to other Acts of parliament. The composition and the power of appointment of the Court Martial members by the UPDF High Command further emphasize its restrictive nature. Parliament intended that the jurisdiction of the General Court Martial extends only to the UPDF,” a ruling by justice Kenneth Kakuru read in part.