Courts under fire: politics, war crimes, and a global arms scandal rock Uganda

In just five days, Uganda’s courts tackled 166 cases — from Besigye’s failed bail bid to the ICC’s unprecedented move to try Joseph Kony in absentia, and a U.S. indictment linking a Ugandan to a Shs 200 billion arms deal.

Behind the headlines, quieter corporate and land rulings quietly reshaped the nation’s legal and economic landscape.

From the crowded corridors of Kampala’s High court to the polished glass walls of The Hague, and even to the sealed chambers of a U.S. grand jury, Uganda’s legal arena was curiously intense this past week.

Between August 4 and 8, judges confronted cases that crossed borders, blurred politics with justice, and reached into the dark world of war crimes and transnational crime. In total, 166 cases passed through the courts.

Some touched on the lives of the powerful, others on the scars of past conflicts, and many more on the property and business disputes that shape everyday livelihoods. But three stories dominated: Kizza Besigye’s failed bid for mandatory bail, the International Criminal Court’s plan to prosecute Joseph Kony in absentia, and a U.S. indictment linking a Ugandan national to a Shs 200 billion arms deal with a Mexican drug cartel.

BESIGYE BAIL DENIED

On Friday, August 8, the Kampala High court became the centre of political and legal attention. Opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, a man who has spent decades battling both at the ballot box and in the courtroom, was told he would not walk free.

Justice Emmanuel Baguma, ruling by email, rejected Besigye’s application for mandatory bail under Article 23(6) (c) of the Constitution. His lawyers had argued the clock should start from November 2024, when he was first detained by the military.

The judge sided with the prosecution, which insisted the 180-day countdown begins only when formal charges are filed in a competent court, in this case, February 21, 2025. In the packed courtroom, supporters wearing blue and white and waving “Free Doctor Besigye” ribbons listened in silence as the decision came down.

The ruling means Besigye will stay on remand until his trial, Session Case No. 335 of 2025, begins. The judge ordered the hearing to be fast-tracked, but the political stakes ensure it will be one of the most closely watched trials in recent memory.

KONY FACES ICC IN ABSENTIA

While Kampala wrestled with present-day politics, the International Criminal Court was looking back at one of Africa’s most notorious fugitives.

On September 9, 2025, the ICC will begin confirmation of charges proceedings against Joseph Kony, the elusive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, in his absence. The court, citing years of failed capture attempts, approved a rarely used provision to proceed without the accused physically present.

Kony now faces 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, sexual slavery and the forced conscription of child soldiers. The case will rely entirely on written and documentary evidence, a decision aimed at protecting survivors from re-traumatisation.

If confirmed, Kony will become the first person in ICC history to face trial proceedings that started without him in the dock, a milestone that raises questions about how justice can be delivered when the accused remains beyond reach.

A SHS 200BN ARMS PLOT

Across the Atlantic, in a U.S. federal courtroom, the name of another Ugandan surfaced, this time in connection with a vast criminal conspiracy. Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, along with a Kenyan and a Tanzanian co-accused, is charged with conspiring to supply military-grade weapons, from AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenades to surface-to-air missile systems, to Mexico’s Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, one of the world’s most violent organised crime groups.

Prosecutors allege the group used falsified end-user certificates to disguise the cartel as the buyer, evading international arms controls. The CJNG is classified by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organisation, meaning Katungi faces severe penalties if caught and convicted. For now, he remains at large.

THE QUIETER BUT CRUCIAL CASES

While the week’s spotlight lingered on Besigye’s bail fight, Kony’s ghost trial, and an international arms scandal, Uganda’s courts were also quietly deciding battles that could change who controls companies, land, and family legacies.

In one corner of the docket was the case of Chen Zhiming v Zhuangs Plastics & Parking Ltd. Here, the court stepped in to reverse what it found was an unjust boardroom coup.

Chen Zhiming, once a director and shareholder, had been ousted through what judges called breaches of company law in the transfer of his shares. The ruling sent a pointed reminder to Uganda’s corporate world: company bylaws and the law itself are not optional.

Decisions taken in smoke-filled backrooms can, and will be overturned. For investors and business partners, it was a reassurance that corporate legitimacy still has defenders.

Another courtroom, another dispute, Fuchigami Koji v Sembuya Edward & Another, where the stakes were about the rights of the few against the power of the many. Here, majority shareholders had orchestrated a share transfer that squeezed out minority voices.

The court nullified the move, calling it oppressive, while at the same time upholding a loan acquisition that had been handled by the book. It was a careful balance: protecting minority shareholders from abuse while affirming that lawful, transparent transactions should stand.

And then came the land fight, Abraham Robinson Kitenda & Another v Florence Ndagire & Another, a case that touched on something deeply personal for many Ugandans: inheritance.

The defendants had lodged caveats on estate land, claiming to be beneficiaries. The court found otherwise. They had no legal or equitable claim, and their caveats were ruled an abuse of process, a form of trespass that delayed rightful administration of the estate.

The verdict ordered their removal, granted vacant possession to the rightful parties, and awarded Shs 30 million in damages. It was a clear warning against using legal tools to block land administration without proof.

These rulings may not have made the evening news, but they ripple outward, shaping boardroom behaviour, protecting vulnerable shareholders, and defending legitimate landowners from opportunists.

WHAT COMES NEXT

In the weeks ahead, Besigye’s trial will open under intense political scrutiny. The ICC will decide if Kony’s charges stand, even without him present. And U.S. prosecutors will continue their hunt for Katungi.

Meanwhile, Uganda’s civil and commercial courts will keep grinding through disputes, the kind that never make international headlines but shape the legal order of the country just as much.

It was, in every sense, a week that showed how the law in Uganda stretches from the village plot dispute to the highest reaches of international justice, and how, in the courtroom, the local and the global are never far apart.

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