The Govt has so many loopholes
Jul 07, 2009
Before the Government embarks on the take-over of Kampala, it should first put its house in order. The NRM policy on governance has a number of loopholes which call for urgent attention and repair.
John Ken Lukyamuzi
Before the Government embarks on the take-over of Kampala, it should first put its house in order. The NRM policy on governance has a number of loopholes which call for urgent attention and repair.
It is on record that President Museveni and others went to the bush to put an end to dissatisfaction related to social injustice and unfair elections.
The three arms of Government the Judiciary, Parliament and the Executive rely on each other. An error committed by any one of them may injure the other.
In 2006, I went to court to contest the jurisdiction of the IGG in forcing me out of Parliament, let alone denying me my constitutional right to stand for MP elections, on allegations of breach of the Leadership Code of Conduct.
Since then, court has not disposed of my petition. This petition is both electoral and constitutional in character. Where is the justice which President Museveni fought to restore? I was deprived of my rights as a citizen to contend for a seat in Parliament.
Even after communicating my concerns of delay for court to hear my petition, no one has shown that the court has quorum to hear my petition.
I do not think the state has interest in the enforcement of the Leadership Code of Conduct. If that was so, courts could have created room for my petition to be heard. If the Attorney General had the political will to implement the said code, he should, by now, have realised that there is something wrong with reference to constitutional provisions like Articles 137(7) and 137(3)(b).
Under those provisions, when a petition is made, the Constitutional Court has to hear and determine such a petition as soon as possible and could even suspend any other business to attend to it.
Under Article 142(2)(a)(b) and (c) of the 1995 Constitution, the Constitutional Court Justice is supposed to be in existence all the time. In the event that the Supreme Court lacks quorum, the President, acting on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, may appoint qualified persons as judge to fill the gap.
I do not know why the President does not appoint judges to dispose of my petition. In my opinion, the failure of the state to constitute a quorum in the Supreme Court is not only a shame, but also a sign of a failing state. The delay for the Judiciary to dispose of my petition is not only a shame to the state, but also unexplainable.
The writer is the Conservative Party president and former Rubaga South MP
Before the Government embarks on the take-over of Kampala, it should first put its house in order. The NRM policy on governance has a number of loopholes which call for urgent attention and repair.
It is on record that President Museveni and others went to the bush to put an end to dissatisfaction related to social injustice and unfair elections.
The three arms of Government the Judiciary, Parliament and the Executive rely on each other. An error committed by any one of them may injure the other.
In 2006, I went to court to contest the jurisdiction of the IGG in forcing me out of Parliament, let alone denying me my constitutional right to stand for MP elections, on allegations of breach of the Leadership Code of Conduct.
Since then, court has not disposed of my petition. This petition is both electoral and constitutional in character. Where is the justice which President Museveni fought to restore? I was deprived of my rights as a citizen to contend for a seat in Parliament.
Even after communicating my concerns of delay for court to hear my petition, no one has shown that the court has quorum to hear my petition.
I do not think the state has interest in the enforcement of the Leadership Code of Conduct. If that was so, courts could have created room for my petition to be heard. If the Attorney General had the political will to implement the said code, he should, by now, have realised that there is something wrong with reference to constitutional provisions like Articles 137(7) and 137(3)(b).
Under those provisions, when a petition is made, the Constitutional Court has to hear and determine such a petition as soon as possible and could even suspend any other business to attend to it.
Under Article 142(2)(a)(b) and (c) of the 1995 Constitution, the Constitutional Court Justice is supposed to be in existence all the time. In the event that the Supreme Court lacks quorum, the President, acting on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, may appoint qualified persons as judge to fill the gap.
I do not know why the President does not appoint judges to dispose of my petition. In my opinion, the failure of the state to constitute a quorum in the Supreme Court is not only a shame, but also a sign of a failing state. The delay for the Judiciary to dispose of my petition is not only a shame to the state, but also unexplainable.
The writer is the Conservative Party president and former Rubaga South MP