The High Court in Kampala has dismissed an application that sought to block today’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) delegates’ conference.
This is after the two warring FDC factions appeared before Justice Musa Sekaana yesterday to hear an interim application in which 28 aggrieved FDC members seek to block the national delegates’ conference called by the Amuriat-Nandala faction.
The aggrieved members had also sought to stop the party’s chief electoral commissioner Toterebuka Bamwenda whom they accused of overstepping his powers by convening the conference to conduct elections of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
These, led by the party National Chairperson Wasswa Birigwa contended that today’s delegates conference is illegal because the notice calling for the same was neither issued nor endorsed by the chairman who is mandated to do so by the party’s constitution.
However, in his ruling issued via email last evening, Justice Sekaana says the actions of the applicants to seek a temporary injunction was an act of bad faith.
Justice Ssekaana ruled that the current parties to this suit are fighting for their personal benefits and interests and this may not necessarily be the interest of their party whose membership is national across the country.
The applicants represented by Elias Lukwago, included the party’s national chairperson Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa, Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Nganda Ssemujju, and Buhweju County MP Francis Mwijukye.
Meanwhile, by last evening, over 1000 delegates had been accredited for today’s national delegate’s conference of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.
A total of 1,271 delegates from 123 districts are expected to attend today’s conference from which the party will elect its new leaders including the party president, national chairman, and secretary general treasurer, among others.
The categories of the delegates who had reported were district chairpersons, district secretary for publicity and mobilisation, district general secretary, district women league chairperson and district youth secretary.
At constituency level, delegates are the chairperson and general secretary of whom one must be a female.
Nathan Nandala Mafabi, the party Secretary General that whoever wants to come to Lugogo to disorganize the conference must come when they have made their will.
However, it remains unclear who will chair the meeting since the party constitution only gives powers to the party chairman to convene and chair the national delegate’s conference.
John Kikonyogo, the party deputy spokesperson, had earlier told our reporter that the meeting can be chaired by any of the vice persons if the chairperson, Wasswa Birigwa is away.
Birigwa is part of the Katonga faction led by interim party president Erias Lukwago that has disowned the leadership of Najjanankumbi for allegedly receiving “dirty cash” from State House ahead of the 2021 general polls.
