KAMPALA– The ruling party, NRM has been dragged to court by one of its members who is challenging the legality of the Executive Committee.
Mr Hamza Kagimu, a delegate and councillor in his petition filed before the Constitutional Court through his lawyers of Turinawe, Kamba and Company Advocates together with Sanywa Wabwire and Company Advocates says that the appointment of the NRM Party Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer should be declared null and void.
Kagimu dragged his party chairman President Yoweri Museveni and the Attorney General to the court saying that the appointment of the executive violates the rights of members to vote for senior party members in sensitive positions of the party yet Article 71(d) of Uganda’s Constitution guarantees the holding of free and fair elections is one of the fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law.
He claims he first petitioned the Party Secretariat months ago which acknowledged receipt of his grievance, but ignored it, hence the decision to take the matter to the Constitutional Court today Thursday.
That’s why the election of members in senior positions of NRM, becomes a key issue in line with said Article.
However, the president has opted to appoint the said members as the National Chairman of NRM instead of them being elected as required by the Ugandan Constitution.
Kagimu contends that by amending several Articles of the party constitution in 2014, that removed the said elections, made it a grave contravention of the Party Constitution that can only be addressed by the Constitutional Court.
He now wants court to declare that the appointment of the Executive Committee by the president to serve as officers of NRM is unconstitutional, because such appointment means the said persons holding those positions are mere servants of the party whose supreme role is to only fulfill the interests of the President.
