Court of Appeal stops removal of Akena as UPC president

Feb 12, 2016

The appellate court’s ruling overturned an earlier ruling in which the High Court had removed Jimmy Akena from the office of the party president

 

The Court of Appeal has stopped the temporary orders issued by the High Court removing Jimmy Akena from the office of the president of the Uganda Peoples' Congress (UPC) party.

 

According to a press release by the party's Secretary General Edward Segganyi issued on February 10, the Court of Appeal, on February 9, granted an interim order that the status quo must be maintained in the party until the reconciliation processed has been exhausted.

 

The release also stated that the appellate court's ruling overturned an earlier ruling in which the High Court had removed Jimmy Akena from the office of the party president, faulting the UPC delegates that attended the party's consultative meeting last July that constituted itself into a delegates' conference and overwhelmingly confirmed Akena as the party president.

 

According to the release, the meeting in which Akena was voted into office of the party president had been convened and supervised by Olara Otuunu, the former party president.

 

However, according to the release, Otuunu, who postponed the delegates' conference indefinitely, had together with five others sued Akena, but withdrew his case in February last year. Following Otuunu's withdrawal of the case against Akena, the High Court ordered a mediation process between the parties.     

 

"The Party leadership is still committed to addressing the issue of reconciliation and notwithstanding the withdrawal of the case, urges those that still bear grievances, and or those that have been "confused" by the chaos following the attempted overturning of the result of the District Conference Elections, to accept its genuine offer of reconciliation. It is now time to unite behind the Party leadership and focus on the upcoming elections," the release reads.

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