The republic of uganda in the supreme court of uganda at kampala

(a) to preserve and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda.

(b) to co-operate with Civilian authority in emergency situation and in cases of natural disasters;

(c) to foster harmony and understanding between the Defence Forces and Civilians; and

(d) to engage in productive activities for the development of Uganda.”

By virtue of the provisions of article 98(1) of the Constitution, the President of Uganda is the Commander — in — Chief of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces. From the time he was nominated as a candidate for the 2001 Presidential Election up to the time he was sworn in as the winning candidate on 12-05- 2001, the 1st Respondent continued to be the President of the Republic of Uganda. He also continued to be the Commander — in — Chief of the UPDF. I think that this is the effect of the provisions of articles 103(3) and 105(1), of the Constitution read together.

The 1st Respondent does not deny that the UPDF was deployed for purposes of the 2001 Presidential Elections. The justification for doing so is found in paragraph 4 of his affidavit in support of his Answer to the Petition. It is that because police were inadequate and security situation so required, the government decided to and did deploy security Forces throughout the Country to keep peace and order. It further says that the deployment of security forces was done for the purposes of securing law and order throughout the country. It is also stat d that the 1st Respondent did not appoint any military officers to take charge of security of the Presidential Election as stated in paragraph 3(2)(c) of the Petition.

The Army Commander, Maj. Gen. Jeje Odong and the Inspector General of Police, John Kisembo gave similar justification in their respective affidavits, namely that the Police Force was inadequate to maintain security, law and order during the election process. It was therefore necessary to deploy the UPDF and the Police for that purpose. Maj. Gen. Jeje Odong said in his affidavit that sometime in January, 2001, the National Security Council noted that there were indications that election related crimes were on the increase. Intelligence reports from various parts of the Country pointed to the same trend. About the same time, the Minister of Internal Affairs pointed out to Maj. Gen. Odong inadequacies of the Police Force in relation to the task ahead and requested that the Police Force be augmented by the UPDF.

Consequently, the 1stt Respondent was advised and the National Security Council put in place a joint task force consisting of the Army, the Police, LDUs, Intelligence Agencies under the Chairmanship of the Army Commander deputized by the I.G. of Police and the Director General of ISO. There was a joint security task force in each District.

Maj. Gen. Odong and the I.G. of Police Kisembo also said in their respective affidavits that similar joint security arrangements were put in place during the 1987 currency exchange, during the Constitutional Assembly election and the 1996 Presidential Election.

The functions of the Police are also governed by the Constitution, Article 212, which provides:

“212. The functions of the Uganda Police Force shall include the following: