Hearing of five petitions challenging the newly enacted age-limit law that lifted the presidential Age-limit cap from 75 has been transferred to Mbale.
On Tuesday, the Deputy Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny- Dollo announced that five petitions filed by the Uganda Law Society (ULS), six opposition MPs , lawyer, Male Mabirizi, Dr.Abed Bwanika and Prosper Busingye,a concerned citizen from Western Uganda had been merged into one.
Normally, the practice is that cases seeking a similar remedy are consolidated into one to avoid repetition and save time.
Dollo said the petitions will be done with in a marathon style so as not to waste time but the decision to take them to Mbale did not augur well with the petitioners’ lawyers led by Erias Lukwago who said it is inconveniencing to them.
Lukwago said that the venue for the petitions is too far and a lot of time will be wasted away from their usual duties but the Deputy Chief Justice insisted that like Kampala, Mbale is also part of Uganda that court can hear the petitions from there.
He noted that the hearing would start on April 24.
Parliament on December 20 passed the age limit bill before being signed into law by President Museveni seven days later to allow lifting of the cap on the lower and upper age limit from 35 and 75 respectively.