Katumba insists on 'Oyee' after EC discontinues his party registration
The Electoral Commission (EC) has discontinued the registration of former presidential candidate John Katumba's political party, the National Revival Coalition.
In a letter dated July 10, EC's secretary, Leonard Mulekwah said the discontinuation was due to Katumba's failure to complete the registration process by the statutory deadline.
Last year, Katumba, the youngest-ever Ugandan presidential candidate wrote to the EC, and requested the registration of National Revival Coalition as his political party.
In response to his request, the commission, in a letter dated October 8, gave Katumba one and half months to undertake a countrywide signature collection as provided in the Article 75 of 1995 section 7.
However, in November 2023, Katumba wrote back to EC requesting for extension of time for signatures collection on grounds that the time provided was not enough for him to complete the task at hand.
"The scope and complexity of the task at hand necessitate a thoughtful and comprehensive approach, and I believe an extension of time would not only be prudent but also indispensable to ensure the meticulous execution of the duties outlined in the aforementioned article," Katumba wrote.
Katumba had requested a two months extension for him to be able to facilitate a more measured execution of the task.
Request denied
Responding to Katumba's request, Mulekwah said it was not possible to extend the timeframe for signature collection because the registration process had to be conducted within six months without failure.
In his latest letter, Mulekwah says he informed Katumba of the commission's rejection of his request and subsequently advised him to act within the stipulated timeframe, which the former presidential candidate did not do.
"Take note therefore, that the registration process timelines given to you have since elapsed and the entire process overtaken by events which cannot be revived by any extension of time," Mulekwah said in his July 10 letter.
Mulekwah informed Katumba that owing to the above explanation, the registration process for his political party had been discontinued.
"The purpose of this letter therefore, is to inform you that the registration process for your political party has been discontinued," Mulekwah said.
Katumba cites frustration
In an interview with this reporter, Katumba said the commission has been playing "hide and seek" games on him making it hard for him to complete the registration process in time.
"When I submitted in my submission to register the party, they started counting the days. They took like three weeks without replying. They replied after three weeks and I paid the money they needed. They told me to write down the coverage that I had done by November. I did everything that they had stipulated,"
He said he got shocked upon reading EC's letter indicating that they acknowledged receipt of his letters requesting for time extension yet they were not responding to them.
Katumba said his efforts to reach out to EC registry physically have been futile, because "They are ever not in offices, they play to be absent till the situation gets out of hand."
He further told this reporter that he started the registration process in 2022, but got shocked upon reading the media EC's claims that they had been handling the process yet according to him, they could not respond to his letters.
Katumba noted that he had covered 70 percent of the signatures needed, leaving only towns and cities.
Despite the EC's decision to discontinue his registration process, Katumba vowed not to give up until his party gets registered.
"This is not the first time they are doing that. No retreat no surrender!. We shall not give up until we are registered,'
Katumba gained global and local attention when he stood against Yoweri Museveni in the 2021presidential elections.
At the time, he was 24 years, making him the youngest-ever presidential candidate in Uganda.
He lost the election to Museveni after garnering 37,554 votes (0.36 percent).
