Justice Steven Musota has dismissed the case in which aggrieved members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) are challenging the change in its name and alleged sale to former vice president Prof Gilbert Bukenya.
Justice Musota on May 15 advised any party dissatisfied with his decision to reinstate the case if out-of-court negotiations recommended by the court earlier fail to yield positive results.
Last September, four aggrieved SDP members led by Lugazi mayor J.B Ozuma Asea went to court seeking, among other things, to nullify the Electoral Commission's approval of the political party's change of name to PNU.
Asea, who doubles as spokesman of the little-known political party, also asked the court to declare that the alleged selling of SDP to Prof Bukenya was null and void as it did not comply with articles 1, 2(2) of the Uganda constitution and section 10 and 19 of the Political Parties and Organizations Act 2005.
The other complainants were Fred Kavuma, SDP national organizing secretary; his deputy Ahmed Serunjogi; and Harriet Namujju, Women League leader. On the other hand, the respondents were Michael Mabikke, the SDP leader; Henry Lubowa, the party's secretary; as well as the Electoral Commission.
When the case first came up for hearing on May 8, deputy registrar Festo Nsenga gave the parties one week to settle the matter out of court and report back to court the following week. The EC had filed its defence but Mabikke, Lubowa and PNU had not.
When contacted earlier this month, Erick Sabiiti, the EC legal officer handling the case, said the commission agrees to re-gazette SDP but Mabikke and Lubowa must meet the costs involved because they misled EC into believing that the entire party leadership had agreed to the change of name. Read more
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