President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has appointed Brig. Gen. Richard Tukacungurwa as the new Chairperson of the General Court Martial. The appointment, made under the UPDF Act and communicated to the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, follows advice from the Judicial Service Commission. It comes at a time when the military justice system is undergoing significant constitutional and structural adjustments.
According to the November 25, 2025, communication, Brig. Gen. Tukacungurwa—who has served for over a decade as Judge Advocate—replaces Brig. Freeman Robert Mugabe. Tukacungurwa, an Advocate of the High Court, will lead an entirely new team of senior officers appointed to the Court Martial, who are now regarded as being at the same level as judges of other courts of law.
The newly named members include Col. Wankandya Simon Tusah, Col. Asha Patra, Col. Kangwamu Fredrick, Col. Mugisha Raphael, Lt. Col. Igambi Mohammedie Nasser, Maj. Amodoi Samuel Moses, Maj. Arihaihi Emmanuel, Maj. Nyombi Abubaker and Maj. Chemtai Denis. The President also made changes at Division Court Martials, appointing Lt. Col. Drani Epalu David to head the Fourth Division Court and Lt. Col. Mulyanti Yaqoub Hassan to lead the One SFG Court.
These appointments come in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court judgment delivered on January 31, 2025, which effectively rendered the Court Martials defunct. On that date, the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, ruled that civilians can no longer be tried in military courts—a practice that had persisted for decades, especially in cases involving firearms and security-related offences.
In an almost unanimous decision, the seven justices held that military courts lack the legal competence to try civilians. Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo noted that Court Martial members are not required to have legal training, likening it to sending an unqualified person into a surgical theatre to operate on a patient.
He further faulted the military system for allowing junior officers, including bodyguards, to sit on panels trying offences as serious as treason. Owiny-Dollo humorously remarked that even with his education, he could not be randomly assigned to perform childbirth operations at Mulago Hospital or appointed a brigade commander, emphasizing the absurdity of placing unqualified individuals in judicial positions.
The Chief Justice also questioned the one-year appointment terms of Court Martial members, arguing that the absence of security of tenure undermines judicial independence. He pointed out that the Court Martial lacks adequate facilities for preparing defence cases, which violates the right to a fair hearing. Additionally, he criticised the absence of an appellate mechanism outside the military system, declaring such a limitation unconstitutional.
Owiny-Dollo concluded that sections of the UPDF Act granting military courts the authority to try civilians were unconstitutional, null, and void. He ordered all Court Martial proceedings to cease and directed that case files be forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for transfer to civilian courts. Following the ruling, Court Martial activities were halted, and no proceedings took place for months.
In response, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka introduced an amended UPDF Bill, which Parliament passed and President Museveni later assented to. The amendment reinstated the trial of civilians before military courts under a narrow exception permitted by the Supreme Court: a civilian may only be tried jointly with a soldier over the same facts, and only where the soldier is the principal offender.
The court cautioned that this exception must not be abused to reintroduce widespread civilian trials through a legal loophole. This constitutional challenge stemmed from a successful appeal by former MP Michael Kabaziguruka against the Attorney General.
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