By.Admin
NUP supporters around the country can now relax after the Highcourt has dismissed a case which had challenged the legality of thier party registration and change of name.
The resultant effect of a 12 paged judgement by justice Musa Ssekaana is that NUP is now a legally registered political party in Uganda having changed its name and leadership from National Unity Reconcilation and development party in June last year .
This has given a sigh of relief to all candidates that have offered themselves for nomination on the NUP ticket since they are safe to contest in the 2021 general elections.
In his judgement Justice Ssekaana has noted that the plaintiffs; Basile Difasi and Twaha Hassan filed the case out of the stipulated timeframe of 3 months within which an aggrieved party can ask court to review a decision .
The judge has then observed that filing this case a year after NUP had been registered, it was clear that former NURP leaders had no genuine grievance but a scheme to make some quick cash in this election season .
Justice Ssekaana has also invoked his powers to add former NURP president Moses Kibalama and secretary General Paul Ssimbwa Kagombe as applicants in the case the duo having back tracked on thier affidavit evidence before court as they failed to recover the 500m dollars they were promised .
He has then ordered Kibalama , Kagombe , Difasi Basile and Twaha Hassan to pay costs to NUP, its president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu and other administrators for unlawfully dragging them to court and concluded that he cannot listen to litigants who access court through windows instead of using the main door as he who seeks justice must do so with clean hands, mind and heart.
The former founders of NURP had asked court to cancel NUP’s registration saying it was done with out their consent and by not following the party Constitution.
These also sued the Election commission and the Attorney General who have also been ordered to recover costs of the case from Kibalama and colleagues .
