The High Court in Kampala has quashed the recent National Executive Committee for one of the Democratic Party rival factions.
On March 9th 2020, DP members opposed to president Norbert Mao’s leadership led by Rajab Ssenkubuge secured an order from the head of the Civil Division of High Court Justice Dr. Andrew Bashaija to convene a National Council.
In the resultant meeting, the faction under the name, Democratic Party Uganda elected Wakiso District LC V Chairperson, Matia Lwanga Bwanika was National Committee Chairperson, Busiro East MP, Medard Lubega Sseggona as Secretary General, Mary Babirye Kabanda, National Treasurer, Patrick Katuramu deputy National Treasurer, Racheal Kagoya, Deputy Women’s leader and Alex Kiwanuka as Busoga Region representative.
Later, Mao went to court to quash the elections arguing that the rival group’s lawyer, Samuel Muyizzi had not instructions from the mother DP party which is a corporate body before entering any consent on behalf of the party, whose leadership they are opposed too.
On Monday, Justice Musa Ssekaana ruled that what the rival DP faction did was illegal and quashed the same because some members hijacked powers for their own benefit.
“The actions of the Sulaiman Kidandala to execute a consent that binds the entire Democratic Party as the Organising Secretary was illegal, since his role under the Constitution did not include signing documents or binding the party in court matters. It could have been done in good faith and in the best interest of the party, but the final decision in such circumstances should have been made by the National Executive Committee,” Justice Ssekaana said.
DP NEC suspends Kidandala as Organising Secretary; he fires back
The judge explained that the National Executive Committee is like the Board of Directors of a company and that the decisions must be made at such a meeting by resolution or consensus should be meant to bring about an orderly way of management and running of the party but not causing disarray as was done in the case of the elections that saw Matia Lwanga Bwanika elected national committee chairperson
Ssekaana said the governing body of the party is responsible for settling the overall strategic direction of the party and policy development unlike what happened in March.
“Individual party members should never hijack that mandate otherwise there will be ‘organizational disarray’ which would be sowing seeds of confusion in the party. Decision making should be a preserve of the high command headed by the National Chairman.”
“Therefore, this could is satisfied to review the consent judgment for being executed by persons not authorized by the party and or without authority. The court would have set aside the Consent judgment on those grounds. Since this court had earlier found that the main application was brought against a non-existing party,(Democratic Party Uganda) the consent judgment is set aside and their application is dismissed with no order as to costs since it was brought against a non-existing party.
