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Candidates nominated on the National Unity Party (NUP) ballot can, for now, take a breather after the Kampala High Court on Wednesday dismissed a case challenging the party’s registration and the Reconciliation Party’s name change. and National Unity Development (NURP).
Judge Musa Ssekaana also ordered former NURP founding president Moses Kibalama Nkonge and secretary general Paul Ssimbwa Kagombe to pay the costs of NUP leader and Kyadondo East legislator Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, and five other people for taking them illegally to court.
Judge Ssekaana invoked his powers to add Mr. Kibalama and Mr. Kagombe as applicants in the case, having backtracked their affidavit as evidence in court as they were unable to recover the $ 5 million they were promised.
The judge also held that the applicants should have requested a judicial review within three months after the name change of the part from NURP to NUP, that is, before June 6, 2019, but instead filed the application on August 24, 2020 after more than a year.
“This request was made in order to earn some money during the election season and the applicants do not have a genuine complaint, but want to be relevant and make some quick money,” the judge said.
“The court is empowered to deny reparations and deny access to judicial reparations on the basis of misdemeanors due to various considerations, for example, it is not desirable to allow outdated claims to be scrutinized in court; there must be a final character to ligation, “added Mr. Ssekaana.
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Kyagulanyi’s leadership of the party came under scrutiny when two of its founders, Difas Basile and Hassan Twala, petitioned the High Court saying that Kibalama, the founding chairman of the party, changed his name and transferred his leadership to Kyagulanyi and your group without your knowledge and consent.
Mr. Bobi Wine was sued jointly with the Electoral Commission (EC), the Attorney General (AG), the acting president of Kibalama, the Art of National Unity, Reconciliation and Development (NURP), Party leaders National Unity Platform (NUP) David Lewis Rubongoya, Aisha Kabanda, Joel Ssenyonyi, Flavia Kalule Nabagabe, Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu and Paul Ssimbwa Kagombe.
The petitioners claimed that the NURP was published as a political party in Uganda on December 13, 2004, and issued a certificate of registration on December 28, 2004.
They further claimed that in 2019, without any rights and in violation of the party constitution, Mr. Kibalama and the Electoral Commission illegally changed the name of their party to NUP and on July 14, 2020 handed over their leadership to Messrs. Kyagulanyi and Kagombe.
