Jurisdictional fight erupts in Uganda

NTV reports here on a court-martial case in which the accused are a combination of civilians and police officers:

The General Court Martial at Makindye has revisited its earlier decision and cancelled bail for three police officers.

The police officers; Fisal Katende, Amon Kwarisima and James Magada had been granted bail in January this year on grounds that they are junior officers who could not interfere with CMI investigations or threaten witnesses.

However, today Lt. Gen Andrew Gutti the head of the 7 member court reversed his earlier decision after the accused men’s lawyer, Caleb Alaka who informed him that his clients will not submit to the jurisdiction of his court as they are not military officers.

Alaka based his decision on a High Court ruling in which Justice Margaret Oguli-Oumo ordered for the immediate release of the police officers from custody on grounds that the army court acted unreasonably to charge serving police officers with offences of being in unlawful possession of firearms yet they need guns in the execution of their duties.

Alaka then asked the court to immediately discharge the police officers adding that they cannot plead to fresh charges of being in unlawful possession of weapons.

It's at that point that Lt. Gen Gutti ordered that all the 7 police officers be remanded to Makindye police Military barracks and their civilian co-accused be taken to Kigo prison until 27th March 2018.

The accused had reported back to the Military court today for the mention of their case.

It would seem that a crisis has arisen in the conflicting jurisdictional rulings of the High Court and the court-martial and the retaliatory revocation of bail. Mr. Alaka has crossed swords with the court-martial in the past.