Ssemugenyi Files Constitutional Petition to Strike Down UPDF (Amendment) Act, 2025
“This is what the petition stands for. And it is what I, too, stand for a Uganda where law, liberty, and leadership walk hand in hand.”
Kampala: Dr. Dennis Daniel Ssemugenyi, a prominent human rights defender and constitutional advocate, has filed a constitutional petition before the Constitutional Court of Uganda, challenging the validity of the recently enacted UPDF (Amendment) Act, 2025.
In his petition, Dr. Ssemugenyi argues that the Act is invalid from the outset, having been passed in violation of several foundational principles enshrined in the 1995 Constitution of Uganda.
Among his gravest concerns is the Act’s authorization of military trials for civilians and the expansion of military jurisdiction into areas traditionally reserved for civilian justice.
“It was passed in a context where constituency representation in Parliament is deeply imbalanced, and a gerrymandered electoral system has produced a two-thirds ruling party supermajority, despite significant population disparities,” the petition reads.
Dr. Ssemugenyi adds: “I believe that such a law, passed under these conditions, cannot reflect the sovereign will of the Ugandan people.”
Citing Article 2 of the Constitution, which states that any law inconsistent with the Constitution is void to the extent of the inconsistency, Dr. Ssemugenyi outlines several grounds on which the Act is unconstitutional it permits military courts to try civilians, violating the Article 28(1) which guarantees a fair hearing before an independent and impartial civilian court.
He also stated that it violates Article 44(c) which declares the right to a fair hearing non-derogable, Articles 119, 120, and 126 which safeguards prosecutorial and judicial independence from external interference.
Additionally, it seeks to undo Supreme Court precedents, thereby undermining the separation of powers, which is protected under Articles 28, 126, and 128.
Ssemugenyi contends that it was enacted by a Parliament whose composition fails to proportionately represent the Ugandan population, contrary to Article 63(3), which requires that: “Each constituency shall contain as nearly as possible an equal number of inhabitants,”
with no constituency deviating by more than 15% from the national average.
With Uganda’s 2025 population projected at 51.4 million and 353 constituencies, the national population quota per MP should be approximately 70,000.
However, some ruling party MPs represent constituencies with as few as 59,000 people (–15.7% deviation) and many opposition MPs represent constituencies with more than 150,000 people (+114% deviation).
“These imbalances exceed the constitutional threshold,” Ssemugenyi notes, “undermining the principle of equal suffrage and producing an artificial supermajority that enables the passage of contested legislation.”
“Even with presidential assent, a law that contradicts the Constitution remains subject to judicial review. Constitutional supremacy cannot be set aside by political convenience,” he emphasizes.
In his petition, Dr. Ssemugenyi asks the Constitutional Court to declare the UPDF (Amendment) Act, 2025 unconstitutional and void ab initio, aknowledge that the current constituency framework fails to reflect the sovereign will of the people, reaffirm that military courts have no jurisdiction to try civilians and promote electoral and legislative reforms that uphold equal representation, judicial independence, and civilian oversight of the military.
“This is not a protest, it is a patriotic duty. A quiet but firm stand for the Constitution, for justice, and for the Ugandan spirit of fairness,” Dr. Ssemugenyi declares. “This is what the petition stands for. And it is what I, too, stand for a Uganda where law, liberty, and leadership walk hand in hand.”
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