{UAH} Mbabazi man wants NRM dissolved

Mbabazi man wants NRM dissolved

Written by Edris Kiggundu

Last Updated: 25 February 2015

Some of NRM's top leaders at Kyankwanzi recently

Court orders EC to reveal NRM funders

A chief magistrate's court has ordered the Electoral Commission to reveal the source of money and names of funders of the ruling NRM.

 

The order was issued by Timothy Lumunye at Nakawa on October 31, 2014 but six months down the road the EC has not complied.

The order stemmed from a case filed by Francis Atugonza (not the former mayor of Hoima and FDC supporter). Atugonza wanted to access the party's audited accounts between 2010 and 2013 from the EC. When the EC failed to act on his request last year, Atugonza took the matter to court.

According to the order, EC should provide Atugonza with information regarding the "records of contribution, donation or pledges made by the founders or promoters of NRM, statements of accounts showing sources of funds and the names of persons that have contributed [to NRM], properties belonging to the party and annual audited accounts for the period NRM has been in existence to date."

The court order is addressed to the chief executive officer of the EC, who in this case is Sam Rwakoojo, the secretary. Asked to comment on the matter, Jotham Taremwa, the EC spokesperson, said he was not aware of the court order. He said the EC is not in the habit of hiding information from the public.

"There is nothing to hide [about the operations of political parties]. Anybody can request information from the political parties' desk and it will be given to you," he said.
Nicholas Opiyo, a lawyer, said the only way the order can be enforced is by Atugonza seeking another court order of mandamus (an order compelling a public official to perform his/her duty).

"When you have this order, the officer who is supposed to provide this information can be personally held liable for not doing their duty," Opiyo said.

MBABAZI'S HAND

Atugonza, we have been told, is a supporter of former Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi. He is also a member of the "Mbabazi western brigade", a loose group set up by activist Ellady Muyambi to mobilise political support for the former NRM secretary general in western Uganda.

Mbabazi, so far, remains tightlipped about his presidential ambitions. Muyambi told The Observer yesterday that they are aware that NRM has not furnished the EC with its audited accounts for the last three years. If any exist, he said, they are forged.

"The accounts have to be signed by three people: the party chairman, the treasurer and the secretary general. As far as we know, Mbabazi has not appended his signature to any NRM accounts in the last three years," Muyambi claimed.

Rose Namayanja, the NRM treasurer, said on Tuesday that she could not comment on issues related to the NRM accounts because she is still acquainting herself with her new role.

"I am still new in the office. I will check and get back to you," she said.

NRM's source of funding remains a mystery. While the party's 264 MPs make a monthly financial contribution, the money amounts to about Shs 50m per month and is therefore too little to sustain NRM activities, including running the secretariat.

According to sources, President Museveni, the party chairman, remains its main funder. This realization has encouraged critics to allege that the president is abusing public resources to bankroll partisan activities.

DISSOLVE NRM?

Muyambi said they have given the EC two weeks, with effect from February 23, to comply with the order or face the consequences. Should it fail, he said, their lawyers would demand that NRM be de-registered.

According to section 21 (1) of the Political Parties and Organisations Act (PPOA), failure by a political party to comply with any of the provisions of the act, including annual declaration of its accounts to the EC, is ground enough to have it de-registered. Yet the same act in section 9 (6) says it is only the EC that can lodge such a request at the High court.

Last year in April, the High court approved a request by the EC to deregister 10 political parties accused of failing to comply with certain provisions of the act, particularly section 9. Peter Walubiri, a constitutional lawyer, said it is difficult for an ordinary member to successfully pursue the issue of de-registering a party in court.

"What a member can do is to take on the EC for its omission or for not playing its role. Otherwise I do not know under which law someone can seek to dissolve a party," Walubiri said.

ekiggundu@observer.ug

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Comments   

+1 #1 Lakwena 2015-02-25 09:03

In other words, this is why Mbabazi confidently and categorically stated that: he 'is not going to contest against M7", but someone else. Because by October 2015, M7 would've been long disqualified from contesting in the 2016 General Election (GE).

And these are some of the cases (dissolution of the NRM party) , which more and more will make M7 look silly and idiotic (today's Observer front page): A smile of dishonesty.

Simply because since 2001, the NRM party has never accounted for its Campaign Finance.

Ironically M7 who's Chairman of a party in power; is the most vocal about 'discipline'; the rule of law; accountability; etc., but he is accountable to no one, not even to the NRM membership.

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0 #2 Gwok 2015-02-25 09:57

Everybody knows that they shout back only after they have been kicked out of the MRM's main food wagon.

Simply put, GREED IS TALKING, not PRINCIPLES

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