The high court in Gulu has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognize Christopher Acire, the current member of parliament for Gulu Municipality as the official Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) flag bearer for Aswa County in Gulu district.
In a ruling delivered on Friday afternoon, Lady Justice Margret Mutonyi ruled that Okumu was not dully nominated as candidate for the FDC since the party constitution was not followed.
Justice Mutonyi cited article 7 G & H of the FDC constitution which states that nomination of a candidate for any political office should follow the due process of the law which among others includes picking of nomination forms, filling and returning the dully filled form to the party election registrar. The judge ruled Okumu did not follow the said process.
The ruling disqualifies Reagan Okumu, the FDC party Vice President as the party flag bearer for Aswa County, a constituency he has represented for the last 20 years. Okumu now automatically becomes an independent candidate.
Early this month Justice Mutonyi odered the electoral commission to nominate both Okumu and Acire as independent candidates awaiting her ruling on December 18.
In her ruling Justice Mutonyi said the FDC as a national party is expected to follow the principles of democracy as enshrined in the 1995 constitution. According to the judge, the conduct of the FDC party officials who had endorsed Okumu had denied Acire his political rights.
In a petition filed at Gulu High Court, Acire demanded that court orders FDC to conduct primary elections instead of hand-picking candidates.
FDC lawyer Bena Mutamba appealed against the ruling but the appeal was immediately dismissed by the judge for lack of evidence.
The judge subsequently ordered that Acire should be handed all the party symbols, signs and colours as the official FDC party candidate.
Simon Toolit Akecha, the Gulu FDC party Chairperson blamed his party headquarters for failing to address the issue. Akecha said the matter should have been solved outside court since Acire wrote a number of letters demanding for primary elections to be held in Aswa.
Okumu, the incumbent area MP for Aswa County was nominated by the FDC working committee following last month’s meeting that unanimously endorsed him.
But through his lawyers Luganda, Ojok and Co Advocates, Acire challenged Okumu’s endorsement on grounds that the party constitution had not been followed in picking Okumu as the FDC party flag bearer for Aswa County.
Acire who is serving his first term as Gulu municipality MP declined to defend his seat preferring to go for Okumu Reagan’s Aswa county. The two politicians are known not to be in good terms.
Even with the court victory against Okumu, it is unlikely key FDC party leaders in Gulu will throw their weight behind Acire whose performance in parliament has been heavily criticised as below par.
