High Court delays judgment in NUP formation case

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The High Court in Kampala has deferred to next week, a judgment for the case in which two founding members of the National Unity Reconciliation and Development Party are challenging changes that led to its take over by Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu.

The judgment was expected today before the Deputy Head of the Civil Division Justice Musa Ssekaana. However, the judiciary spokesperson Jameson Karemani told URN that the judgement was not ready.

Despite this, security had been heightened with dozens of Uganda Peoples Defence Forces soldiers, Local Defense Unit personnel, Field Force Unit, Counter-terrorism and regular police officers deployed outside the court premises.

They had camped at the entrance of the court building and roadblocks placed at all junctions leading to the court. The police had also unusually deployed heavily inside the court building on the orders of  Assistant Superintendent of Police Mubarak Semakula.

A few of people power supporters led by Kawempe North Parliamentary candidate Muhammad Segirinya had also camped at court with the hopes that today’s court decision should determine their eligibility to contest for the various positions under the National Unity Platform umbrella.

The case stems from a suit filed by two founding members of the National Unity, Reconciliation and Development Party –NURP, the entity which was transmuted into National Unity Platform, against their former leader Moses Nkonge Kibalama and secretary-general Paul Simbwa.

The members; Difas Basile and Hassan Twaha accuse their leaders Moses Nkonge Kibalama of fraudulently making changes to the party constitution and effecting its takeover without following due processes. They are specifically challenging the change of the party name to NUP, change of leadership from Kibalama to Kyagulanyi, the change of party colors and logos, as well as the alteration of founder members and subscribers.

They argue that the founding members of  the party were never consulted and did not pass the required resolution to change the party name in line with provisions of the NURP constitution of 2004. It is also alleged that Kibalama handed over the political leadership of NURP to NUP in a disguised extraordinary delegates conference attended by 51 members who elected the respondents as the new party leaders.

The petitioners also faulted Kibalama and Kyagulanyi for having forged documents that the Electoral Commission used to approve the changes, and asked the court to declare that the National Unity platform is an illegal entity.

During the initial hearing of the case, Kibalama and Simbwa acknowledged that some steps were not followed as stipulated before handing over the party to Kyagulanyi. However, Kyagulanyi and NUP through their lawyers; Wameli and company Advocates asked the court to reject the evidence citing that it was made under duress.

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URN