Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces Act

Section Interpretation Section In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “ active service ” means service — (a) in operation against an enemy or in a foreign country, in operations for the protection of life or property, or relating to the military occupation of a foreign country; (b) in operations for the preservation of order; (c) for purposes of relief in case of emergency ; (d) in aid to the civil power ; and (e) for any other purpose that appears to the Defence Forces Council to be expedient; “ advocate ” means an advocate admitted and enrolled under the Advocates Act ; “ aircraft ” includes any machine for flying whether propelled by mechanical means or not, and any description of balloons; “ aircraft material ” includes— (a) parts or components of, or accessories for, aircraft , whether for the time being in aircraft or not; (b) engines, armament, ammunition and bombs and other missiles of any description in or for use in aircraft ; (c) any other gear, apparatus or instruments in or for use in aircraft ; (d) any apparatus used in connection with the taking off, landing, or detecting the movements of, aircraft ; and (e) any fuel used for the propulsion of aircraft a...

Section Summary trial Section An accused officer or militant to be tried by summary trial shall be afforded a proper opportunity to prepare himself or herself for the trial and in particular, he or she shall as soon as possible, and in any case not less than twenty-four hours before the trial, be informed of— The summary trial authority may find the accused officer or militant guilty of— Subject to subsection (11) , if the summary trial authority is satisfied that the accused is guilty, he or she shall call for the conduct sheet of the accused and determine sentence on considerations of— the charges brought against him or her; the fact that he or she is to be subjected to summary trial ; and his or her right to elect to be tried by court martial and he or she shall be informed about the implications of either choice and in particular that where he or she opts for summary trial it means he or she is opting for trial without having counsel of his or her own choice. The accused officer or militant at a summary trial shall not be represented by counsel and there shall be no legal officer at such trial but both the accused and the summary trial authority may seek legal advice out of cou...

Section Additional powers of summary trial authority Section A summary trial authority shall have the following additional powers— to set aside a sentence imposed at a summary trial ; clemency; to mitigate punishment; and to suspend all or part of a punishment.

Section Appeals from decisions of summary trial authority Section The summary trial authority shall endorse the appeal to his or her commanding officer or immediate superior in command and shall include— An appeal from a decision of a summary trial authority shall lie only to the commanding officer or the immediate superior in command of the summary trial authority and, in particular, an appeal from a decision of a superior authority in exercise of original jurisdiction shall lie to the Commander-in-Chief. The appeal shall be in writing and shall be submitted through the summary trial authority that presided at the trial at which the decision appealed against was made. a statement of facts including what was included in the investigations, what was raised at the summary trial and any other relevant information; copies of documents and witness statements which were shown or discussed at the summary trial or otherwise relevant; and a copy of the appellant’s conduct sheet.

Section Action on appeal Section On receipt of an appeal under section 205 , the commanding officer or the immediate superior in command of the summary trial authority shall refer the appeal to an advocate for advice and he or she or the Commander-in-Chief, as the case may be may, if necessary, take corrective action or order a retrial.

Section Principles of civil court to be observed generally Section Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act and any regulations made under this Act, the rules of evidence and procedure to be observed in proceedings before a unit disciplinary committee or court martial shall, as far as is practicable, be the same as those observed in proceedings before a civil court .

Section No limitation on jurisdiction Section A person alleged to have committed a service offence may be charged, dealt with and tried under military law whether the alleged offence was committed in Uganda or out of Uganda.

Section Place of trial Section Every person alleged to have committed a service offence may be charged, dealt with and tried under this Act either in Uganda or out of Uganda.

Section Trials to be public Section Subject to subsections (2) and (3) , military courts shall be public and, to the extent that accommodation permits, the public shall be admitted to the trial. Where a military court considers that it is expedient in the interest of public safety, defence or public morals that the public should be excluded during the whole or any part of a trial, the court may make an order to that eff ect, and any such order shall be recorded in the record of the proceedings of the military court . A witness shall not be admitted to a trial until he or she is called upon to give evidence or by specific leave of the military court and the court may at any time require the witness to withdraw after having given his or her evidence.

Section View by military court Section A military court may, where it considers it necessary, view any place, thing or person.

Section Witnesses and advocates at military courts Section The commanding officer or officer commanding of the accused person and a military court shall take all necessary action to procure the attendance of the witnesses whom the prosecutor or the accused person or both request to be called and whose attendance can, having regard to the exigencies of the service , reasonably be procured. Nothing in subsection (1) shall require the procurement of the attendance of any witnesses, the request for whose attendance is deemed by the commanding officer , officer commanding or the military court , to be frivolous or vexatious. Where a request by the accused person for the attendance of a witness is deemed to be frivolous or vexatious, the attendance of that witness, if his or her attendance, having regard to the exigencies of the service , can reasonably be procured, shall be procured if the accused person pays in advance the fees and expenses of the witness at the rates prescribed in regulations made under this Act. If at the trial, the evidence of the witness proves to be relevant and material , the military court shall order the accused person to be reimbursed in the amount of the fees...

Section Provisions where accused found insane Section Where, on the trial of an accused person by a military court , it appears to the court that the accused person is by reason of insanity unfit to stand his or her trial, the court shall so find, and if the finding is confirmed in accordance with the following provisions, the accused person shall be kept in custody in such manner as may be provided by or under rules made under this section until the directions of the Minister are known or until any earlier time at which the accused is fit to stand his or her trial. Where on the trial of a person by a military court , it appears to the court that the evidence is such as, apart from any question of insanity, to support a finding that the accused was guilty of any offence, but that at the time of the acts or omissions constituting that offence the accused was insane so as not to be responsible for his or her actions in accordance with the Penal Code Act, the court shall find that the accused was guilty of that offence but was insane at that time and the accused shall then be kept in custody in such a manner as may be provided by or under rules or orders made or given under this secti...

Section Autrefois acquit and autrefois convict Section A person, in respect of whom a charge of having committed a service offence has been dismissed, or who has been found guilty or not guilty either by a military court or civil court on a charge of having committed any offence, shall not be tried again by any court in respect of that offence or any other offence of which he or she might have been found guilty on that charge. Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect the validity of a new trial ordered under section 234 or 238 .

Section Proceedings to be deemed judicial proceedings Section Any proceedings under this Act either before a military court , or before a board of inquiry where evidence is required to be given on oath or on making a solemn affirmation, shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings for the purposes of Chapter X of the Penal Code Act providing for offences relating to the administration of justice.

Section Orders of court Section After the conviction or acquittal of a person, a military court may make any order that may be made by a civil court in exercise of its criminal jurisdiction. A unit disciplinary committee or court martial may enforce an order made under subsection (1) in the same way and manner as civil courts enforce an order made by a civil court in exercise of its criminal jurisdiction.

Section Bail Section Subject to sections 229 and 246 , a military court may grant bail to a person charged with a service offence on the same considerations that govern the grant of bail in civil courts.

Section Cases not covered by Act Section In any case not provided for by this Act or regulations made under this Act regarding its proceedings, a summary trial authority shall adopt such course as appears most likely to do justice.

Section Code of conduct for Defence Forces Section There shall be a code of conduct for the purpose of guiding and disciplining members of the Defence Forces as set out in Schedule 7 to this Act.

Section Persons subject to military law Section The following persons shall be subject to military law — every officer and militant of the reserve forces and any prescribed force when he or she is— every person found in unlawful possession of— For the purposes of this section, but subject to such limitations as may be prescribed, a person accompanies a unit of the Defence Forces which is on service if he or she— every officer and militant of a regular force; undergoing drill or training whether in uniform or not; in uniform; on duty; on continuing full time military service ; on active service ; in or on any vessel, vehicle or aircraft of the Defence Forces or any defence establishment or work for defence; serving with any unit of a regular force; or present, whether in uniform or not, at any drill or training of a unit of the Defence Forces ; subject to such exceptions, adaptations and modifications as the Defence Forces Council may by regulations prescribe, a person who under any arrangement is attached or seconded as an officer or a militant to any service or force of the Defence Forces ; every person, not otherwise subject to military law , who is serving in the position of an...

Section Arrests generally Section A soldier may, without warrant, conduct the arrest of a member of the Defence Forces of any rank who is wanted to answer charges in respect of any of the following offences— A person who has committed, is found committing, is suspected of being about to commit, or is suspected of or charged under this Act with having committed a service offence , may be placed under arrest. For the avoidance of doubt, the ordinary arresting officer shall be the commanding officer of the unit to which the suspect belongs but in cases where it is impracticable for him or her to do so, any member of the Defence Forces may, without warrant, in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1) conduct the arrest of a suspect of equal or lower rank. A member of the Defence Forces or the public may, without warrant, conduct the arrest of any member of the Defence Forces found committing or suspected of being about to commit a service offence . murder; treason; mutiny; rape; defilement; desertion; breaking concealment; careless shooting of a fellow soldier or civilian; or any other offence carrying the maximum death sentence. A person authorised to effect an arrest under this...

Section Search of members or premises Section Subject to this section, ifit appears to a member ofa court martial from information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is with any officer or militant or upon or at any premises which are occupied by military personnel— anything as to which there are reasonable grounds for believing— An officer or militant authorised under subsection (1) to carry out any search or to seize any property or thing shall— Any search carried out under this section shall be conducted in the presence of the officer or militant in whose charge or under whose control the premises which are being searched are, except that if— stolen property or anything with respect to which any offence under this Act has been or is on reasonable grounds suspected to have been committed; or that it will afford evidence as to the commission of; or that it is intended to be used for the purpose of committing any offence under this Act, be superior in rank to the officer or militant whose person is to be searched or in whose charge or control the premises are; and deliver safely to the commanding officer of the officer or militant referred to in par...

Section Appointment and powers of specially appointed personnel Section An officer or a militant appointed under regulations made for the purpose may— detain or arrest without a warrant any person who is subject to military law regardless of the rank or status of that person, who has committed, is found committing, is suspected of or charged under this Act with having committed a service offence ; and exercise such other powers as may be prescribed for the enforcement of military law .

Section Handling of persons arrested Section An officer or a militant commanding a guard, guardroom or safeguard or an officer or a militant appointed under section 185 , shall receive a person committed to his or her custody and shall as soon as is practicable, and in any case within twenty-four hours, give in writing to the officer or militant to whom it is his or her duty to report, a statement— Copies of the statement made under subsection (2) shall be submitted to— If there is no statement received under subsection (1) , the reporting officer or militant shall inform the officer or militant to whom it is his or her duty to report, of the following— A person effecting an arrest under this Act shall immediately commit the person arrested to civil custody or service custody or take the person to the unit or formation with which he or she is serving or to any other unit or formation of the Defence Forces and shall, at the time of the committal, or as soon as is practicable after that, but in any case not later than twenty-four hours, deliver to the officer or militant in whose custody that person is committed, a statement in writing, signed by himself or herself stating the nature...

Section Irregular detention Section A person subject to military law who, having committed a person to the custody of any officer or militant , fails without reasonable cause to deliver— Where the arrested person is committed to the custody of a person subject to military law who is in command of a guard, guard room or safeguard, then if without reasonable cause that person does not as soon as is practicable and in any case not later than twenty-four hours after the committal, give to the person to whom it is his or her duty to report— A person subject to military law who, when another person subject to military law is under arrest, fails to release or effect the release of that other person when it is his or her duty to do so, commits an offence. at the time of committing; or if it is not practicable so to do, at the time of the committal, then within twenty-four hours thereafter, a written statement containing so far as known to him or her, the name of the arrested person and the particulars of the alleged offence and the name and rank or other description of the person by whom the arrested person is alleged to have committed the offence; and if he or she has received it, the sta...

Section Report of delay of trial Section Where a person triable under military law has been placed under arrest for a service offence and remains in custody for forty-eight hours without his or her trial by a military court having commenced, his or her commanding officer shall make a report to the Service Chief of Personnel and Administration and the Service Chief Political Commissar stating the reasons for delaying the trial and shall release the prisoner on conditional bond after seventy-two hours. A person held in custody in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1) who has been continuously so held for twenty-eight days without commencement of his or her trial by a military court , may, at the expiration of that period, petition the President or such other authority as the President may appoint in writing for that purpose, to be released from custody or for the disposal of the case. A person held in custody in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1) shall be freed by his or her commanding officer when a period of ninety days continuous custody from the time of arrest has expired unless his or her trial by a military court has commenced. A person who has been freed fro...

Section Scale of punishments Section The following punishments may be imposed in respect of service offences— The punishment of imprisonment shall be subject to the following conditions— The punishment of detention shall be subject to the following conditions— The punishment of reduction in rank shall— in the case of an officer — death; imprisonment for two years or more; dismissal with disgrace from the Defence Forces ; imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; dismissal from the Defence Forces ; detention; reduction in rank; communal labour; forfeiture of seniority; suspension; severe reprimand; reprimand; caution; fine; stoppages ; and such other minor punishments as may be prescribed. Each punishment specified in subsection (1) shall be deemed to be a punishment less than any other punishment preceding it in that subsection. Except where a mandatory sentence is prescribed under this Act, a military court may impose a less penalty in accordance with the scale of punishments in this section. every person who on conviction for a service offence is liable to life imprisonment or imprisonment for a term of years may be sentenced to imprisonment for a shorter term; and a sente...

Section Committal Section Where a punishment of imprisonment is to be put into execution, the service prisoner shall as soon as practicable, be committed to a civil prison, to undergo his or her punishment according to law. Where a punishment of detention is to be put into execution, the service detainee shall, as soon as practicable, be committed to a military detention barracks or such other place as the court may direct, to undergo his or her punishment.

Section Temporary removal from incarceration Section A service prisoner or a service detainee may, by an order made by a military court , be removed temporarily from the place to which he or she has been committed for such a period as may be specified in that order but, until his or her return to that place, he or she shall be retained in service custody or civil custody , as the occasion may require; and no further committal order is necessary upon his or her return to that place.

Section Rules of civil prisons to apply Section While a service prisoner is undergoing punishment in a civil prison, he or she shall be dealt with in the same manner as other prisoners in the place where he or she is undergoing punishment and all the rules applicable in respect of a person sentenced by a civil court to imprisonment including the rules for remission for good conduct shall, insofar as circumstances permit, apply accordingly.

Section Validity and correction of committal documents Section The custody of a service prisoner or service detainee is not illegal by reason only of informality or error in or in respect of a document containing a warrant, order or direction issued under this Act, or by reason only that that document deviates from the prescribed form. Any document referred to in subsection (1) may be amended appropriately at any time by the authority that issued the document in the first instance or by any other authority empowered to issue documents of that nature; and no action shall lie in respect of anything done by any person in pursuance of a service sentence of imprisonment or detention under that document.

Section Execution of warrants Section Every superintendent or other person in charge of a civil prison shall take cognisance of any warrant of committal purporting to be signed by a member of a unit disciplinary committee or court martial and shall receive and detain, and in the case of a sentence of death, carry out the sentence, according to the terms of that warrant and this Act, and shall confine the offender until discharged or delivered in due course of law.

Section Jurisdiction of appellate courts Section A party to the proceedings of a unit disciplinary committee or court martial other than a field court martial who is not satisfied with its decision shall have the right to appeal to an appellate court on any or all of the following matters— the legality or propriety of any or all the findings; the legality of the whole or part of the sentence; the severity or leniency of the sentence. Subsection (1) shall not affect the operation of any sentence of a unit disciplinary committee or court martial , other than a sentence of death imposed by a court martial , not being a field court martial . In the case of a sentence of death imposed by a court martial other than a field court martial , the sentence shall not be executed until after the expiration of the time within which notice of intention to appeal against conviction may be given and, if notice of intention to appeal is duly given, the sentence shall not be executed until the appeal has been determined or abandoned.

Section Advice as to right of appeal Section The unit disciplinary committee or court martial shall, at the conclusion of the trial, inform the parties to its proceedings as to their right of appeal. Where a party mentioned in subsection (1) has presented the notice of appeal provided for in section 227 , a copy of the record of the proceedings of the unit disciplinary committee or court martial in respect of whose decision the appeal is to be made, shall be delivered to that party as soon as practicable after the presentation of the notice of appeal.

Section Form of appeal Section Every appeal shall be in the form of a notice of appeal followed by a memorandum of appeal. A notice of appeal shall be lodged with the registrar within such period after the delivery by a unit disciplinary committee or court martial of the decision in respect of which the appeal is lodged as shall be prescribed. A memorandum of appeal shall be lodged with the registrar within such period after the appellant has been availed a copy of the record of the proceedings of the unit disciplinary committee or court martial against whose decision the appeal is lodged as shall be prescribed. A memorandum of appeal shall specify the grounds of appeal. The appellate court may, for good cause shown, on an application made for the purpose, extend the period referred to in subsection (2) .

Section Appellant in prison Section Where an appellant is in prison, he or she may present his or her notice of appeal or memorandum of appeal to the officer in charge of the prison and the officer in charge shall immediately forward the notice of appeal or memorandum of appeal to the registrar of the appellate court .

Section Bail pending appeal Section In exceptional circumstances, and on such conditions as it may impose, the appellate court may grant bail pending appeal.

Section Notice of hearing Section The registrar shall cause notice to be given to the appellant and to the respondent of the time and place at which an appeal will be heard, and shall furnish the respondent with a copy of the notice of appeal and memorandum of appeal, and of the record of the proceedings of the unit disciplinary committee or court martial in respect of which the appeal has been lodged. At the hearing of an appeal, the appellate court shall hear the appellant and the respondent or their advocates.

Section Supplementary powers of the appellate court Section For the purposes of this section, the appellate court may, if it deems it necessary or expedient in the interest of justice, order the production of any documents, exhibits or other thing connected with the proceedings, the production of which appears to the appellate court necessary for the determination of the appeal, and may issue any warrants necessary for enforcing the orders or sentences of the court. Where the appellate court considers that additional evidence is necessary, it may record its reasons for doing so and may take such evidence itself. The appellant shall be present when additional evidence is taken under this section. Evidence taken under this section shall be taken as if it were evidence at the trial before the unit disciplinary committee or court martial from whose decision the appeal arose. Where the appellate court deems it necessary so to do in dealing with an appeal, it may call for and receive from the unit disciplinary committee or court martial a report on any matter connected with the appeal.

Section Non-compliance Section Non-compliance, with this Act or regulations made under this Act, by an appellant shall not prevent further prosecution of his or her appeal, unless the appellate court otherwise directs. The registrar shall immediately notify the appellant of any directions given by the appellate court under this section if the appellant was not present at the time when the directions were given.

Section Disallowing appeal Section Notwithstanding anything in this Part, the appellate court may disallow an appeal if, in the opinion of the court expressed in writing, there has been no substantial miscarriage of justice.

Section Setting aside finding, etc. Section Upon the hearing of an appeal in respect of the legality or propriety of a finding on any charge, the appellate court may— Where the appellate court has set aside a finding of not guilty and recorded a finding of guilty and there is no other existing finding of guilty, the appellate court may— Where the appellate court has set aside a finding of guilty and another finding of guilty remains, the appellate court shall— Where the appellate court has set aside a finding of not guilty and recorded a finding of guilty and there is existing another finding of guilty, the appellate court shall— Where, on an appeal, the appellate court is satisfied that the unit disciplinary committee or court martial — set aside a finding of guilty and direct a finding of not guilty to be recorded in respect of that charge; set aside a finding of not guilty and direct a finding of guilty to be recorded in respect of that charge; or direct a new trial on that charge, in which case the appellant or the respondent, as the case may be, shall be tried again as if no trial on that charge had been held. Where the appellate court has set aside a finding of guilty and no...

Section Punishments subject to mitigation Section Where— a punishment has been imposed by the appellate court under section 234(3) ; or a punishment included in a sentence has been dealt with under section 234(4) or (5) ;

Section Quashing findings of unit disciplinary committee or court martial Section The appellate court may quash any finding made by a unit disciplinary committee or court martial . Where, after a finding of guilty has been quashed, no other finding of guilty remains, the whole of the sentence passed by the unit disciplinary committee or court martial shall cease to have force and effect. Where after a finding of guilty has been quashed, another finding of guilty remains, and any punishment included in the punishment passed by the unit disciplinary committee or court martial is in excess of the punishment authorised by this Act in respect of the finding of guilty which remains, or is, in the opinion of the appellate court unduly severe, the appellate court shall, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, substitute such new punishment as it considers appropriate. Where a finding of not guilty has been quashed under this section and a finding of guilty recorded, the court shall proceed as in section 234(3) or (5) .

Section Substituting of findings for original findings of unit disciplinary committee or court martial Section The appellate court may— substitute for the finding of guilty made by a unit disciplinary committee or court martial a new finding of guilty of some other offence if the unit disciplinary committee or court martial could, on the charge, have found the offender guilty— substitute a new finding for any finding of guilty made by a unit disciplinary committee or court martial , that is illegal or cannot be supported by the evidence if the new finding could validly have been made by the unit disciplinary committee or court martial on the charge and if it appears that the unit disciplinary committee or court martial was satisfied on the facts establishing the offence specified or involved in the new finding; under section 178 of that other offence; or of that other offence on any alternative charge that was laid, and it appears that the facts proved him or her guilty of that other offence. Where a new finding has been substituted for a finding made by a unit disciplinary committee or court martial and any punishment included in the sentence passed by the unit disciplinary commit...

Section New trial Section Where at a new trial held under this section a person is found guilty— Where, on an appeal, the appellate court considers that a new trial is advisable by reason of an irregularity in law in the proceedings before the unit disciplinary committee or court martial , it may set aside a finding whether of guilty or not guilty, and direct a new trial; and the accused shall be tried again for that offence as if no previous trial had been held. if any new punishment includes a term of imprisonment, there shall be deducted from that term any time during which the offender had been imprisoned following the pronouncement of the previous sentence; and if any new punishment is in the same paragraph in the scale of punishments specified in section 219(1) as the punishment imposed by the unit disciplinary committee or court martial in the first instance, the new punishment shall not be in excess of the previous punishment. The appellate court may dispense with any new trial directed under this section or under section 234 .

Section Substitution of punishments Section Where a unit disciplinary committee or court martial has passed a sentence in which is included an illegal punishment, the appellate court may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, substitute for the illegal punishment such new punishment as it considers appropriate.

Section Mitigation of punishments, etc. Section The appellate court may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, mitigate, commute, remit or enhance any or all of the punishments included in a sentence passed by a unit disciplinary committee or court martial .

Section Effect of new punishment Section Where under the authority of this Act, a new punishment, by reason of substitution, commutation or enhancement replaces a punishment imposed by a unit disciplinary committee or court martial , the new punishment shall have force and effect as if it had been imposed by the unit disciplinary committee or court martial in the first instance, and accordingly, this Act shall apply. Where a new punishment involves imprisonment, the term of the new punishment shall be reckoned from the date of substitution, commutation or enhancement, as the case may be.

Section Non-derogation of powers Section Nothing in the preceding provisions of this Part shall be in derogation of the powers conferred under this Act to quash findings or alter findings and sentences.

Section Saving of powers of President Section Nothing in this Act shall be construed as restricting or regulating the exercise of the prerogative of mercy conferred on the President by Article 121 of the Constitution .