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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | High court has accepted government’s request for more time to file a response to a petition seeking to block elections in 89 constituencies.
Justice Musa Ssekaana, the Deputy head of the High Court Civil Division has given the Attorney General up to December 10, 2020, to file the government’s response to the petition filed by city lawyer, Ben Muhumuza.
It came after the Attorney General’s representative, Margaret Nabakooza informed the court that they received the court documents from the Local Government Ministry on Monday and couldn’t file a response to the suit in time.
In August 2020, Muhumuza sued the Electoral Commission, Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi and the Attorney General for creating new electoral areas in disregard of the law.
He asked court to issue a permanent injunction restraining Electoral Commission from nominating any individual or candidates for parliamentary elections in all constituencies created after July 26, 2013, when the Local Government Act was amended.
A total of 43 constituencies were created in 2015 and 46 in 2020. Those approved by parliament recently include Buhweju West, Buwekula South, Kiboga West, Lamwo East, Bugangaizi South, Chekwi East, West Budama Central, and Kwania North.
The others are Buyanja East, Kagoma North, Ngariam, Agago West, Bukanga North, Bukimbiri and Nakaseke Central. Muhumuza argues that in 2013 when the Local Government Act was amended, counties were abolished as an administrative unit by repealing sections of part five of the same law, which provided for administrative units based on the county, parish or ward and village.
The provision also provided for a council at each level of the administrative units. Through his lawyer, Emmanuel Tumwebaze, Muhumuza argued that for counties to be created, the process must be initiated at the county administrative level, which is non-existent having been abolished by the 2013 amendment.
To him, this implies that the actions of cabinet and parliament are illegal, irrational and unconstitutional since they acted without any legal backing. Last month, High Court dismissed Muhumuza’s application seeking to block the nomination of parliamentary candidates in the affected constituencies pending the hearing of the main application.
However, Tumwebaze says they are not happy with the two month’s adjournment saying the nominations would have ended by that time.
Muhumuza isn’t the first person to challenge the creation of the constituencies. They were first challenged by Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament Betty Nambooze in 2015 and later Bufumbira East MP, Eddie Kwizera.
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