53 members of Jeema leave party

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | At least 53 members of the Justice Forum-Jeema are said to have ditched the party following internal disagreements.

Led by the former spokesperson, Abdulnoor Ssentongo Kyamundu, the party members said their irreconcilable differences have made it impossible for them to remain in the party.  “This decision comes after exhausting all internal and external dispute resolution mechanisms that culminated in recourse to courts of law. We have found that the core values and beliefs, and methods of work that attracted us to Jeema were long abandoned by an untouchable clique within the leadership, and are no longer part of the party’s direction. We believe that our constituents who still believe in Justice deserve representation that truly reflects their needs and interests,” a statement signed by Kyamundu reads in part.

This development comes days after the High Court in Kampala dismissed with costs an application by five Jeema members challenging the extension of the term of office of current party leaders, including its President Asuman Basalirwa.

In dismissing the application, Judge Simon Peter Kinobe said the applicants had failed to apply within the stipulated time frame of three months after the decision to extend the term of office was made.“Upon studying the application and the affidavits in support, it is clear that the facts giving rise to this application first arose on the 8th of October 2020. It is therefore my finding that this application should have been filed within three months from the 8th of October 2020 for it to have been filed within the time limit set by the law. I also note that this rule grants this court extensive jurisdiction to enlarge the time within which an application should be made, for good reason. For the court to enlarge time, the applicant should make an application for extension of time within which to file an application giving justifiable reasons as to why it was unable to comply with the timelines provided by the law. The applicants herein made no effort whatsoever to apply for enlargement of time and validation of their application… I therefore find that this application was filed out of time and accordingly dismiss it with costs to the respondents,” Kinobe’s ruling reads in part.

In the statement, Kyamundu said they are exploring other options for association that better align with their aspirations. Those options now appear to include the Democratic Front, the new political party led by the former Leader of Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga.

Last night, Kyamundu was elected as the Democratic Front Vice President for Buganda. Asuman Basalirwa was not available for a comment by press time.

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