Senior lawyer Caleb Alaka a renown celebrated Constitutional law giant has protested the move to allow lawyer Joshua Byamazima to determine whether his client should be given the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket to contest as Member of Parliament come 2026.
Alaka who saved Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among outsmart Hellen Okeke her political competitor in 2021 and was declared unopposed as Bukedea district woman Member of Parliament was set to appear before the commission established by the party national chairperson and also the President of Uganda Museveni to represent Samuel Odongo Oledo the controversial former president of Uganda Medical Association.
Oledo is contesting the victory of the incumbent Moroto County legislator Samuel Okwir Odwee insisting that he was declared winner fraudulently.
Alaka’s matter was among the first to be fixed. However, he protested and stormed out telling his senior colleague counsel John Musiime the head of the Tribunal insisting that he is not comfortable appearing before a junior lawyer like Byamazima.
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Because Musiime, a senior partner at Dentons Advocates understands Alaka, he took a decision earlier of suggesting that the matter be presided over by himself, a move which was welcomed by senior lawyers in the legal fraternity.
According to Enock Barata the NRM Chief Legal Officer, the Tribunal is expected to start delivering decisions resulting from the hearings from the petitions this week and they will be delivered through emails and WhatsApp.
NRM’s Brandon Kintu disclosed that the president will take a decision on the alleged illegalities exhibited during the NRM parliamentary elections primaries after receiving the final report from the tribunal noting that he is not going to be shocked if NRM electoral body is fired and others prosecuted.
Charles Rwomushana, a political commentator however insists that members sitting on the Tribunal lack experience to handle serious illegalities exhibited during the NRM elections primaries where people even lost their lives and others survived with serious body injuries
Among the famous names sitting on the Tribunal include lawyers Tonny Tumukunde, Anthony Bazira who are known henchmen to Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka a seasoned NRM supporter and personal lawyer to President Museveni.
Highly placed sources told this website that the team of lawyers who are presiding over the Tribunal are being prepared to handle election petitions which will be filed in Courts of law against NRM candidates including Museveni himself.
Ahmed Kalule, another NRM lawyer revealed that Kiwanuka recruited a number of lawyers to battle opposition leaning lawyers like Nicholas Opio, Erias Lukwago and among those he recruited himself include; Elison Karuhanga and Hussein Kashillingi whose main work is to follow up Museveni’s campaigns, noting all legal issues that will need to be defended once petitions arise after Mzee’s win.
