26th September 2023.
KAMPALA, Uganda – Tensions are rising within Uganda’s opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) as 23 members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) have taken legal action to halt an upcoming delegates’ conference scheduled for October 6th, 2023. The conference had been called by the party’s Electoral Commission chairman, Boniface Toterbuka Bamwenda, prompting the NEC members to seek court intervention.
In a lawsuit filed at the High Court in Kampala on Monday, the group, led by Salaam Musumba, the party’s vice chairman for the Eastern region, alleges that Toterebuka’s actions in convening the conference are illegal and contrary to the FDC’s constitution. They are seeking a court declaration that his role as chief electoral commissioner of the FDC and his attempts to organize internal elections for the party’s leadership structures are unlawful.
“The declaration that the defendant’s actions of convening and organizing a National Delegates’ conference scheduled for 6th October to elect members of the National Executive Committee are unlawful and illegal,” the lawsuit reads in part.
The leaders are also requesting a permanent injunction to prevent Toterebuka and his associates from holding the office of the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the FDC without the express mandate of the National Delegates Conference.
According to the petition, the issue arose when Toterebuka assumed the role of chief electoral commissioner without following formal constitutional processes or receiving any resolution passed by the national delegates’ conference. The last delegates’ conference in 2017 had appointed Yusuf Nsibambi as the head of the Electoral Commission, and he had not formally stepped down.
The petition further reveals that the NEC had intended to address this matter during a NEC retreat scheduled to address internal party differences before the rollout of the party’s election roadmap. However, Toterebuka allegedly decided to unilaterally release a different election roadmap, leading to the upcoming conference.
The petitioners argue that this conference was not sanctioned by a resolution of the NEC or the office of the National Party Chairperson, Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa.
The legal battle within the FDC comes amid continued internal party tensions, with some members accusing the party president and Secretary-General of accepting money from President Museveni during the 2021 general elections. They have called for new leadership elections, a demand that has been firmly rejected.
