Kampala, Uganda | THE BLACK EXAMINER | The Katonga faction of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has swiftly moved to the court in an effort to stop the upcoming delegates’ conference scheduled by the party’s Electoral Commission chairman, Boniface Toterebuka Bamweda, for next week.
In a legal suit submitted to the High Court in Kampala on Monday, a group comprising 23 members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), led by Salaam Musumba, who serves as the party’s vice chairman for the Eastern region, asserts that Toterebuka’s actions in convening the meeting on October 6th, 2023, are illegal.
The group is seeking a court declaration that Toterebuka’s dual roles as chief electoral commissioner of FDC and organizer of internal elections for the party’s leadership structures run contrary to the party’s constitution and are, therefore, unlawful.
Furthermore, the leaders are requesting a permanent injunction to prevent Toterebuka, his representatives, staff, or anyone acting under his authority, from conducting any further internal elections for the leadership of FDC structures and from convening the National Delegates conference.
Their argument hinges on the fact that the last party delegates’ conference, held in 2017, appointed Yusuf Nsibambi as the head of the Electoral Commission, and he has never officially relinquished this position. Toterebuka assumed this role without adhering to the formal constitutional processes or receiving any resolution passed by the national delegates’ conference.
The leaders contend that Toterebuka’s actions amount to encroachment on the powers of the party Chairperson, as outlined in the FDC constitution. They argue that these actions also contravene the democratic principles required of a political party, as stipulated in the constitution of Uganda and the Political Parties and Organizations Act.
In addition to Salaam Musumba, the applicants in this case include prominent figures such as Betty Aol, Denis Onekalit Amere, Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, Roland Kaginda, Francis Mwijukye, Doreen Nyanjura, Mubarak Munyagwa, Harold Kaija, Michael Kabaziguruka, Atkins Katusabe, Harold Muhindo, Asinansi Nyakato, Samuel Makhoja, Dominic Wakabi, George Ekwaro, Nicholas Kamara, Amon Rubarema, Hajji Obedi Kamulegeya, Plan Virginia Mugenyi, Moses Tugume, and Kennedy Okello.
This legal action comes amid internal strife within FDC, stemming from allegations that some party leaders received financial support from President Museveni during the 2021 general elections. Calls for the resignation of the party president and secretary-general in light of these allegations were met with firm rejection.
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