NUP case dismissed

POLITICS   2021 ELECTIONS

KAMPALA - The High Court in Kampala has dismissed with costs a case in which two people - Difas Basile and Hassan Twala had sued National Unity Platform (NUP), seeking the deregistration of the party following its change of name and ownership.

Justice Musa Ssekaana ruled that court declines to entertain the application since it was not brought under any known procedure.

He also ruled that the application was made to avoid the time limit of three months within which an application for judicial review should have been brought.

"The judicial review guidelines or rules equally provide for locus standi and this would have been the threshold before the applicants would seek to challenge the actions of a party.  It is an abuse of court process," he ruled.

However, the judge dismissed the application with costs to the respondents.

The party, formerly known as National Unity Reconciliation and Development Party (NURP), is now headed by Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine under the new name NUP.

Kyagulanyi had been sued alongside, Moses Nkonge Kibalama, Paul Ssimbwa Kagombe, David Lewis Rubongoya, Aisha Kabanda, Joel Ssenyonyi, Flavia Kalule Nabagabe, Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu, the Electoral Commission and Attorney General.

Background

Court documents indicate that NURP was on December 28, 2004, gazetted as a political party in Uganda and issued a certificate of registration.

The petitioners contend that in 2019 without any colour of right and in breach of the party constitution; Kibalama and EC illegally changed its party name to NUP and illegally handed over its political leadership to Kyagulanyi and Ssimbwa on July 14, 2020.

They claim that as founders of NURP, their consent and participation is necessary to amend the party constitution and elect new office bearers.

"Changing the party name was illegal because the relevant party organs were not consulted and did not pass the requisite resolution to change it under the NURP party constitution 2004," Basile asserts.

The petitioners claim that the list of founder members/subscribers in the NURP party constitution, 2004 was fraudulently altered to further the aforesaid illegalities.

Court documents indicate that the party's political leadership was handed over to Kyagulanyi in an alleged extraordinary party delegate's conference attended 51 people.