Fresh legal woes for Democratic Party

Kampala

The legal woes of the Democratic Party are far from over. Just when the party seemed to be recovering from bickering over leadership positions, a group of supporters has dragged the party president, Mr Norbert Mao, to court contesting his election to the position.

The six complainants, led by Mr Twalla Kadora, who chairs the party’s Kapchorwa District branch, say they are disappointed with the manner in which the Mbale Conference that elected Mr Mao as DP leader in February was conducted.
The group that lodged its complaint at the High Court in Kampala on Friday is also suing former party president John Ssebaana Kizito, Matthias Nsubuga, the party secretary general, John Kawanga, Muhammed Kezaala and the electoral commission.

They argue that the Mbale meeting excluded the majority of the DP members—denying them a chance to participate and exercise their rights to debate and decide party policies but also contest for office.

Referring to the DP constitution, the petitioners claim that the Mbale meeting was wrongly chaired by Mr John Kawanga as he was not the party chairman or vice.
Mr Twalla led group also argues that the Opinya/ Polly Mukiibi electoral committee which purported to conduct the party’s office bearers in Mbale was in contravention to the DP constitution as it was not set up by the NEC in accordance with the party constitution.

The electoral commission was dragged to court on grounds that it illegally received and filed a false list of purported new DP office bearers led by Mr Mao without the authorisation of the National Executive Council (NEC).

The petitioners want court to bar the Electoral Commission of Uganda from dealing with Mr Mao’s DP and also have it expunged from the DP file at the EC.
On June 1, the High Court dismissed a petition filed by Prof. Joseph Mukiibi, the then party chairman who had sued the Mao-led DP also over the Mbale delegates conference. Court is yet to summon Mr Mao to respond to the fresh suit.