Dr. Dennis Daniel Ssemugenyi files petition to strike down UPDF (Amendment) Act, 2025

On June 20, 2025, I filed a constitutional petition before the Constitutional Court of Uganda challenging the recently enacted UPDF (Amendment) Act, 2025. This petition contends that the law is  void ab initio  — invalid from the outset — for violating key principles enshrined in the Constitution.

The Act permits military trials of civilians and expands military influence into spaces 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.

I believe that such a law, passed under these conditions, cannot reflect the sovereign will of the Ugandan people.

The Constitution is clear: laws that conflict with it are automatically void to the extent of the inconsistency (Article 2). The UPDF Act, 2025, offends the Constitution in multiple ways:

– It allows military courts to try civilians, in breach of:

  – Article 28(1):

 guaranteeing a fair hearing before an independent and impartial civilian court

  – Article 44(c):

 making the right to a fair hearing non-derogable

  – Articles 119, 120, and 126:

 protecting prosecutorial and judicial independence

– It attempts to undo previous Supreme Court rulings, undermining the separation of powers under Articles 28, 126, and 128.

– It was passed by a Parliament that does not 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 the number not exceeding or falling below the national average by more than 15%.

Based on Uganda’s projected 2025 population of 51.4 million and 353 constituencies, the national quota is approximately   70,000 people per MP

However:

  – Some ruling party MPs represent constituencies with as few as 59,000 people, a –15.7% deviation

  – Many Opposition MPs represent constituencies exceeding 150,000 people, a +114% deviation

These imbalances exceed the constitutional threshold, undermining the principle of equal suffrage and resulting in an artificial supermajority that facilitates 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.

Through this petition, I respectfully ask the Court to:

– Declare the UPDF (Amendment) Act, 2025 unconstitutional and void ab initio

– Recognise that the current constituency framework does not reflect the general will of the people

– Reinforce the constitutional protection that military courts should not try civilians

– Encourage the development of electoral and legislative reforms that honour the principles of equal representation and civilian rule

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.

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.