Will DP’s Balikuddembe take the battle beyond the courts?
Nov 07, 2005
DEMOCRATIC Party (DP) lawyer, now party presidential aspirant, Joseph Balikuddembe Mukasa, passes more for a legal counsel than your regular politician.
By Cyprian Musoke
DEMOCRATIC Party (DP) lawyer, now party presidential aspirant, Joseph Balikuddembe Mukasa, passes more for a legal counsel than your regular politician.
This is partly because he is more of a man of action than a talking head. That he was the brain behind the party’s recent court victories against the state and yet managed to stay in the background attests to his pragmatic character.
Now that he has thrown a spanner in the works and decided to join the fray, will he prove as challenging, especially to the party old guards, as he was when he was still party lawyer?
“I have been around since the late 1950s. Party members want somebody who can re-organise the party and mobilise supporters in order to capture state power. That is my aspiration. I am eager to render my services to my party and the country,†says Balikuddembe.
Armed with a wealth of legal expertise spanning over three decades, Balikuddembe has got the rule of the game at his fingertips. At least for the last couple of years, he has played his cards well, catching government lawyers off guard.
As DP lead counsel, Balikuddembe was at the helm of several court petitions filed and most of them won by the DP.
The latest, through which he led the DP to yet another landmark success, was the famous Constitutional Court case that led to the nullification of the Referendum (Political Systems) Act 2000 under which the June 29, 2000 Referendum was held.
“His name keeps coming up each time DP is twisting the arm of the state. For some reason, Joseph Balikuddembe seems to have mastered the art of suing the Government,†one writer wrote of his victories.
The judges then ruled that the law was passed in ‘kangaroo style’ and that Parliament flouted procedure while enacting it.
Balikuddembe says this meant that the current Movement government is illegal, because Ugandans never chose to be governed under the Movement system.
Perhaps that is the more reason why Balikuddembe has opted to come out of the oblivion of his chambers to take on, as it were, politics the dirty game.
“It is the wicked people who make it dirty. It mustn’t be dirty. I want to serve the party and I want to serve the country. And I think it is a noble cause - a good citizen should do so if he feels he has the capacity and I think I do have it,†he says.
At a time when the DP is dogged by splinters and internal power struggles, Balikuddembe comes in as a sobering factor, with a promise to “re-organise and consolidate DP from the grassroots to the top to ensure a strong, vibrant and united partyâ€.
“If you are not united, you can’t do much. Considering the challenges ahead of us, we must be united. Re-organisation of the party must be a priority,†Balikuddembe says.
He also promises ‘to endeavour to resolve any internal differences or disputes amicably through consultations /reconciliations and/or the established DP structures for the good of the party.
Born to the late Josephine Namutebi and Martin Mukasa Muziraga of Nzizi, Bukoto County in Masaka District, Balikuddembe grew up in a family of 11 siblings. The story is told of how, as a child, he did all sorts of domestic chores, like fetching water, culinary work and working in their large coffee plantations.
From Nkoni Primary School in Masaka, Balikuddembe proceeded to Bukalasa Seminary. He spent several months in Katigondo Major Seminary before going to Namilyango College for high school.
He graduated with a law degree from Dar-es-Salaam University, then University of East Africa in 1968. Ironically, Balikuddembe says, law was not his original dream career. He first wanted to become a priest.
After a stint with Ssebalu and Company Advocates, he worked with Mpungu, Balikuddembe and Company Advocates, which took over from Kiwanuka and Company Advocates after the Late Ben Kiwanuka became Chief Justice in 1972.
Besides filing a host of petitions for the DP, he was also the Advocate for Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye in the presidential election petition against the Electoral Commission (EC) and President Yoweri Museveni.
Balikuddembe has one more petition pending before the courts, seeking to nullify the registration of the NRM-O under the Political Parties and Organisations Act, and to stop the funding of the Movement Secretariat by the treasury.
Among the many challenges he now faces, Balikuddembe comes into a contest already crowded with one too many a candidate, contesting for the DP party ticket.
Among the main contenders he will have to face is one-time Mayor Nasser Ntege Ssebagala, and the current Mayor John Ssebaana Kizito.
Ssebagala, who enjoys considerable support from the city’s riff-raff, has vowed to run for presidency hook or crook, even as an independent candidate if he fails to get the party’s ticket. This means that if Balikuddembe makes it through the primaries, he will have to face-off with Ssebaggala.
And let no one be tempted to sneer at Balikudembe’s bid, because he, too commands some considerable support from some sections of the party, out of the awe he has drawn from winning court cases for the party.
In September, a group calling itself Democratic Party Voice for Institutional Building that described itself as an action programme for a stronger DP threw their weight behind Balikuddembe’s bid.
“Mr. Balikuddembe is the best to take over as president general of the DP,†they said.
“This is due to his numerous contributions to the party, mainly through legal battles that have made the party popular not only in Uganda, but also internationally. We have seen his manifesto as the best person to take DP to state power,†the group chairman Obadiah Muwanga says.
Despite the numerous wrangling and divisions within DP, Balikuddembe still has unwavering resolve that their party is still strong and can actually seize state power given fair opportunity.
“We are the most credible political party in the country. We have a massive following in the country and we are going to mobilise for state power. I think I can do that,†he says confidently.
What, therefore, remains to be seen is whether, Mr. Joseph, Balikuddembe, the man who has proven resilient in pursuing the party interests in court will succeed in taking the battle beyond court.
DEMOCRATIC Party (DP) lawyer, now party presidential aspirant, Joseph Balikuddembe Mukasa, passes more for a legal counsel than your regular politician.
This is partly because he is more of a man of action than a talking head. That he was the brain behind the party’s recent court victories against the state and yet managed to stay in the background attests to his pragmatic character.
Now that he has thrown a spanner in the works and decided to join the fray, will he prove as challenging, especially to the party old guards, as he was when he was still party lawyer?
“I have been around since the late 1950s. Party members want somebody who can re-organise the party and mobilise supporters in order to capture state power. That is my aspiration. I am eager to render my services to my party and the country,†says Balikuddembe.
Armed with a wealth of legal expertise spanning over three decades, Balikuddembe has got the rule of the game at his fingertips. At least for the last couple of years, he has played his cards well, catching government lawyers off guard.
As DP lead counsel, Balikuddembe was at the helm of several court petitions filed and most of them won by the DP.
The latest, through which he led the DP to yet another landmark success, was the famous Constitutional Court case that led to the nullification of the Referendum (Political Systems) Act 2000 under which the June 29, 2000 Referendum was held.
“His name keeps coming up each time DP is twisting the arm of the state. For some reason, Joseph Balikuddembe seems to have mastered the art of suing the Government,†one writer wrote of his victories.
The judges then ruled that the law was passed in ‘kangaroo style’ and that Parliament flouted procedure while enacting it.
Balikuddembe says this meant that the current Movement government is illegal, because Ugandans never chose to be governed under the Movement system.
Perhaps that is the more reason why Balikuddembe has opted to come out of the oblivion of his chambers to take on, as it were, politics the dirty game.
“It is the wicked people who make it dirty. It mustn’t be dirty. I want to serve the party and I want to serve the country. And I think it is a noble cause - a good citizen should do so if he feels he has the capacity and I think I do have it,†he says.
At a time when the DP is dogged by splinters and internal power struggles, Balikuddembe comes in as a sobering factor, with a promise to “re-organise and consolidate DP from the grassroots to the top to ensure a strong, vibrant and united partyâ€.
“If you are not united, you can’t do much. Considering the challenges ahead of us, we must be united. Re-organisation of the party must be a priority,†Balikuddembe says.
He also promises ‘to endeavour to resolve any internal differences or disputes amicably through consultations /reconciliations and/or the established DP structures for the good of the party.
Born to the late Josephine Namutebi and Martin Mukasa Muziraga of Nzizi, Bukoto County in Masaka District, Balikuddembe grew up in a family of 11 siblings. The story is told of how, as a child, he did all sorts of domestic chores, like fetching water, culinary work and working in their large coffee plantations.
From Nkoni Primary School in Masaka, Balikuddembe proceeded to Bukalasa Seminary. He spent several months in Katigondo Major Seminary before going to Namilyango College for high school.
He graduated with a law degree from Dar-es-Salaam University, then University of East Africa in 1968. Ironically, Balikuddembe says, law was not his original dream career. He first wanted to become a priest.
After a stint with Ssebalu and Company Advocates, he worked with Mpungu, Balikuddembe and Company Advocates, which took over from Kiwanuka and Company Advocates after the Late Ben Kiwanuka became Chief Justice in 1972.
Besides filing a host of petitions for the DP, he was also the Advocate for Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye in the presidential election petition against the Electoral Commission (EC) and President Yoweri Museveni.
Balikuddembe has one more petition pending before the courts, seeking to nullify the registration of the NRM-O under the Political Parties and Organisations Act, and to stop the funding of the Movement Secretariat by the treasury.
Among the many challenges he now faces, Balikuddembe comes into a contest already crowded with one too many a candidate, contesting for the DP party ticket.
Among the main contenders he will have to face is one-time Mayor Nasser Ntege Ssebagala, and the current Mayor John Ssebaana Kizito.
Ssebagala, who enjoys considerable support from the city’s riff-raff, has vowed to run for presidency hook or crook, even as an independent candidate if he fails to get the party’s ticket. This means that if Balikuddembe makes it through the primaries, he will have to face-off with Ssebaggala.
And let no one be tempted to sneer at Balikudembe’s bid, because he, too commands some considerable support from some sections of the party, out of the awe he has drawn from winning court cases for the party.
In September, a group calling itself Democratic Party Voice for Institutional Building that described itself as an action programme for a stronger DP threw their weight behind Balikuddembe’s bid.
“Mr. Balikuddembe is the best to take over as president general of the DP,†they said.
“This is due to his numerous contributions to the party, mainly through legal battles that have made the party popular not only in Uganda, but also internationally. We have seen his manifesto as the best person to take DP to state power,†the group chairman Obadiah Muwanga says.
Despite the numerous wrangling and divisions within DP, Balikuddembe still has unwavering resolve that their party is still strong and can actually seize state power given fair opportunity.
“We are the most credible political party in the country. We have a massive following in the country and we are going to mobilise for state power. I think I can do that,†he says confidently.
What, therefore, remains to be seen is whether, Mr. Joseph, Balikuddembe, the man who has proven resilient in pursuing the party interests in court will succeed in taking the battle beyond court.