By Angel Lubowa
KAMPALA
The nation is watching with concern as government and opposition get set for tomorrow’s second reading of the UPDF amendment Bill 2025 .
According to reliable information president Museveni has summoned NRM Mps at a special meeting today at State House Entebbe.
It’s expected that the president and NRM national chairman is seeking to arraign his members before the bill returns to parliament tomorrow.
Similarly the leader of opposition Hon Joel Ssenyonyi has summoned all opposition MPs to agree on strategies to envisage the bill.
” We want to agree on how to manage this situation. There voices suggesting we boycott the sitting while others says we should go to the floor and oppose this bad bill” said Hon Ssenyonyi.
He said the meeting will reach on the most viable move.
The Bill seeks to amend the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces Act to streamline the composition of the organs and structures of the defence forces.
In this it seeks to provide for the definition of service offence, court martial, military court and reserve force; to provide for the restructuring and reestablishment of the courts martial in defence forces in accordance with the Constitution and related matters.
But opposition and other sections of Ugandans express fear that the bill is coming to reinstall the defunct Court martial which the supreme court ruling in January tendered unconstitutional.
Major concern have also emanated from the speed with which the bill is riding at.
Presented only last week for the first reading, the bill has sailed so fast that tomorrow it’s coming for it’s second reading.
The joint Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Defence and Internal Affairs commenced consideration of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Amendment Bill, 2025, only a day after it was presented for first reading in Parliament.
Heated ebates from parliamentarians, government and army representatives on various aspects of the proposal and the interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling on trying of civilians in courts martial didnot do any much to stop the bill which is poised to become law.
As the country awaits any possible out come some opposition lawyers have vowed to return the battle to court should NRM use it’s numbers in the parliament and other means to pass the contested bill.
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