Court upholds right to execute soldiers without appeal

The Ugandan Constitutional Court on Monday upheld a law that allows the execution of Ugandan soldiers without appeal to the Supreme Court. "It is clear that the constitution regards a field court martial as a special court, which is only established to maintain law, order and military discipline in a field of operation where employing the normal court structures would create problems for the field commanders," ruled the panel of five judges. The president of the Ugandan Law Society (ULS), Andrew Kasirye, said in a statement that he was dissatisfied with the ruling. "We are dealing with the most fundamental of all human rights, the right to life, and the court seems to have missed this," he said. "It may be security matters to the state but to the individual, it is his life." "A notice of appeal has already been filed," he added. The case was brought by the ULS and a Kampala lawyer, Jackson Karugaba, who challenged the constitutionality of executing soldiers without giving them the right to appeal. Over the last year, five soldiers have been executed by firing squad, with their executions coming promptly after the passing of their sentences.