Court cancels Uganda Journalists Association elections

Abubaker Lubowa (L), Zambaali Bulasio Mukasa, Emmanuel Nkata, Hasifu Sekiwunga, and Martin Kimbowa are the applicants who dragged the association, its current president Mathias Rukundo (R), to court.

Court cancels Uganda Journalists Association elections
Courtesy photo

The Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala has issued an interim injunction halting the forthcoming elections for journalists’ body, Uganda Journalists Association.

Five journalists including Abubaker Lubowa, Zambaali Blasio Mukasa, Emmanuel Nkata, Hasifu Ssekiwunga and Martin Kimbowa dragged UJA president Mathias Rukundo and Secretary General Emmanuel Kirunda alongside the Uganda Journalists Association for stopping them from participating in the forthcoming election on February, 25.

Five journalists sued UJA for stopping them from participating in the upcoming elections.

Abubaker Lubowa, Zambaali Bulasio Mukasa, Emmanuel Nkata, Hasifu Sekiwunga, and Martin Kimbowa are the applicants who dragged the association, its current president Mathias Rukundo, and secretary-general Emmanuel Kirunda to court.

The journalists say the decision barring, stopping, eliminating, and ejecting them from standing as candidates for elective positions in UJA is illegal and an abuse of the respondent’s powers.

They add that the actions of Rukundo and Kirunda in organising the election process of UJA, including the nomination process and subsequent vetting, in which they are also candidates, are illegal.

In their main suit, they want court to declare that the decision of the respondents in refusing to pass them through to go for final elections during the annual general meeting is a nullity, as it is tainted with illegality, irrationality, bias, and procedural impropriety.

They also seek an injunction restraining the respondents from stopping them to participate in the final election.