Prominent human rights lawyers have sharply criticised President Museveni’s appointment of Brigadier-General Richard Tukachungurwa as Chairperson of the General Court Martial, describing the move as a grave setback for justice, accountability, and the rule of law in Uganda.
Brig Tukachungurwa — the military officer who presided over the dramatic January 2025 confrontation that saw lawyer Eron Kiiza arrested, convicted, and jailed inside the General Court Martial — was appointed on November 25 to replace Brig Robert Freeman Mugabe, whose term expired in June.
His promotion has reignited concerns over the independence and conduct of the military justice system.
Reacting on Wednesday, human rights lawyer Kiiza condemned the appointment in the strongest terms, saying it signalled deep institutional decay.
“This is a nightmare for freedom and justice,” Kiiza said. “He is the personification of impunity and decay of democracy. It represents the erosion and burial of common sense, fairness and justice in the UPDF in particular and Uganda broadly.”
Kiiza and Tukachungurwa clashed on January 7, 2025, during a session of Dr Kizza Besigye’s treason proceedings.
Soldiers blocked Kiiza from entering the defence lawyers’ section, prompting him to protest loudly. Tukachungurwa, then the Judge Advocate, ordered his arrest.
The Court Martial immediately convicted Kiiza of contempt and sentenced him to nine months in prison without a formal hearing. He served nearly three months at Kitalya before securing bail on April 4 pending appeal.
Dr Besigye’s lawyer, Samuel Wanda, said the legal team had anticipated the appointment long before it was officially announced.
“We had heard of this in rumours and we are not shocked,” Wanda said. “However, we do not believe the Chairperson will do justice to that court, looking at his conduct when he was Judge Advocate. We believe he will be serving the interests of the state in this court rather than justice.”
He urged the military court to respect constitutional boundaries:
“We are hopeful that they will restrict their jurisdiction to disciplinary offences and not regular offences, which should be tried in the ordinary courts.”
The promotion comes against the backdrop of intense legal and political debate over the reach of military courts.
On January 31, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that military tribunals, including the General Court Martial, had no constitutional mandate to try civilians and ordered immediate transfer of such cases to civil courts.
However, government swiftly responded by pushing through amendments to the UPDF Act. On May 20, 2025, Parliament passed — and President Museveni later signed — the UPDF (Amendment) Act, 2025, restoring military court powers to try civilians under “exceptional circumstances.”
The President’s new appointments, made under Sections 192, 193, and 195 of the amended Act, followed consultations with the Judicial Service Commission.