{UAH} Law Society Warns Kiggundu Over Lukwago Seat

EC Chief Eng. Badru Kigundu

The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has strongly cautioned the Electoral Commission (EC) to desist from going ahead to organize by-elections to fill the position of the Lord Mayor of Kampala City.

The lawyers’ body in its statement issued out Tuesday; warn that the EC’s acts of going ahead to organize by-elections and yet there is a court order stopping the removal of Mr Erias Lukwago from office until his application is determined, amounts to contempt of court.

The statement was signed off by its president Ms Ruth Sebatindira.

“If it’s true that your commission is planning by-elections when the said court order subsists, you conduct will amount to contempt of court,” the ULS said in its statement, adding, “Once a court order is made by court, we must obey it and if we wilfully disobey it, we will be in contempt of court and indeed we contribute to the breakdown of the rule of law.”

“We call on you and the commission to respect the court protects the authority of the court and respect the rule of law,”

The warning by the learned colleagues comes barely a week after the EC’s chairman Eng Badru Kiggundu in the presence of the media  announced that the Commission had set April 17 as the date it will conduct by-elections to fill the position of the Kampala City Lord Mayor.

He explained his move to organize the by-elections prompted to commence the process after being notified through a letter from KCCA that the Lord Mayor’s position had fallen vacant following the impeachment of Mr Lukwago in November last year.

ULS’s statement comes at the time when Lukwago through his lawyers has written to the Commission also warning it to desist from organizing by-elections due to the existing court injunction.

“In the premises, any attempt to conduct by-elections under such circumstances is not only a nullity but amounts to contempt of court,” reads Lukwago’s letter to the EC

He adds: “if you insist on proceeding with the same, se shall be constrained to seek legal redress. You should therefore stay the process until the matter is concluded by court.”

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