NURP founders petition EC over Bobi Wine's party

Founding members of the National Unity Reconciliation and Development (NURP) party have petitioned the Electoral Commission (EC) questioning how their party morphed into the National Unity Platform (NUP) without their knowledge. 

The founding members of NURP, have also lodged the complaint, under Sections 4 and 21 of the Political Parties and Organisations Act, 2005, punching holes into what they have described as the "unlawful" and "illegal" transactions that underpinned Bobi Wine's purchase of their party. 

KEY CONCERNS 

According to their advocate, James Byamukama, the complaint of founders of NURP against the Kaydondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, rotates around three resolutions—change of the name from NURP to NUP, the nomination of Bobi Wine as the party flag bearer in December 2017 before and the organization of a delegates conference on July 14, 2020 where the People Power pressure group kingpin was elected as NUP party president. 

"The extra ordinary delegates conference allegedly held on July 14, 2020 and attended by only 51 unverified members out of a delegates membership list of 400 delegates, which rubber stamped Kyagulanyi as the new party president and his associates as party office bearers unopposed without conducting a proper election in violation of the party constitution and provisions in the national constitution on internal democracy of political parties," Byamukama said, adding that the other complaint raised by founders of NURP, is the " deliberate alteration of  the list of founder members/ subscribers of the party to aid and abet the aforesaid schemes." 

"Under Section 21 of the Political Parties and Organsiations Act, 2005, the EC is under a statutory duty to address and rectify the aforesaid illegalities, hence this complaint," Byamukama said in his letter to Bobi Wine, adding that failure by the Kyadondo East MP to rectify the anomalies, will automatically enjoin the EC and founding members of NURP to lodge legal proceedings and restore control of the NURP party to its "rightful" founders. 

Byamukama has also asked Bobi Wine to table records of the activities surrounding his acquisition of the party. 

On Friday the EC chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama confirmed the development, adding that the founders lodged the complaints and Bobi Wine's NUP party must address their mind to these emerging issues regarding the transactions and acquisition of the party.