High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana has temporarily stopped the hearing of a case in which two people are challenging the current leadership of the National Unity Platform, as a result of interruption from the ever-present and rowdy NUP supporters.
The proceedings were halted after the unruly supporters of the NUP Principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, stormed the court in big numbers demanding to attend the session. The courtroom however was locked by counter-terrorism police officers to block the hundreds of NUP supporters from joining the session. This did not stop the supporters as they kept fighting and pushing each other for access. A number of them sustained injuries in the scuffles.
As a result, Justice Ssekaana has directed the parties to first control their supporters before he can return to court to hear the matter further. There was heavy deployment of police and Local Defense Unit personnel outside the court premises to control the chaotic scenes.
The case stems from a suit filed by two founding members of the National Unity, Reconciliation and Development Party –NURP, the entity which was transmuted into the National Unity Platform.
The members; Difas Basile and Hassan Twala accuse their leaders Moses Nkonge Kibalama of fraudulently making changes to the party constitution and effecting its takeover without following due processes. The changes include changing the party name from NURP to NUP, changing leadership from Moses Nkonge Kibalama to Robert Sentamu Kyagulanyi and other said leaders, change of party colors, logos, as well as the alteration of founder members and subscribers.
The duo argues that the founding members of the party were never consulted and did not pass the requisite resolution to change the party name in as far as the NURP constitution of 2004 is concerned. It is also alleged that Kibalama handed over the political leadership of NURP to NUP in a disguised extraordinary delegates conference attended by 51 members who elected the respondents as the new party leaders.
Today, the court is expected to hear the defense from the former leader of the National Unity Reconciliation and Development Party, Moses Nkonge Kibalama who is to be cross-examined over how he passed over the leadership of the party to Kyagulanyi.
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