Kampala: Ugandan President Museveni has been sued in his capacity as the chairperson of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party for allegedly being responsible for the chaotic party primaries last Friday. The petitioner, Jackson Ntwatwa, who filed the suit in the High Court in Kampala, states that the directive by Museveni a few days to the primaries, to allow unregistered party members to vote contravened the NRM constitution.
“A declaration that the directive of the 1st respondent (President Museveni) to allow all persons with a national ID to vote in the party primaries even if not a registered member, was illegal contrary to the constitution of the National Resistance Movement,” Ntwatwa states in his petition.
“The 2nd and 3rd respondent (NRM and EC of NRM), failed to organise a free and fair elections and did not resist such directives issued by the 1 respondent (Museveni), which directive violated Section 44 1, 2, and b of the constitution of the NRM, which caused violence and rigging of the elections,” he further contends.
In his affidavit, Ntwatwa contends that he is a member of NRM and a good supporter of President Museveni. However, he says that following the issuance of the party’s electoral road map in July, he was nominated by the party’s electoral commission to stand for the position of MP for Nakifuma constituency and that the polling date had initially been set for September 10.
Contention
Ntwatwa further contends that to his surprise, the party’s electoral commission changed the polling date to September 4 without informing him and other co-candidates, contrary to the final roadmap issued. This, he says, confused many voters who remained in their homes and never turned up to vote last Friday.
The petitioner also accuses NRM party and its electoral body of having failed to organise free and fair elections that were marred by widespread chaos. “Due to violence, my agents were assaulted, caned and disappeared from the polling stations and the crooks took advantage of disorganising the entire election in absence of my agents save for a polling station (Kalagi) where I voted from,” Ntwatwa stated.
He also wants court to nullify NRM elections held on September 4. The petition waits a response from the respondents in the matter; Museveni, NRM party and its electoral commission. Court had not issued them with summons to file their defence.
