L’afrique

Political chronicle of Uganda 2014 - 2015 341
Following the Public Order Management Act (2013) 77 , the NGO Bill 78
due to be passed by parliament before mid-2015, requires NGOs to re-register
and imposes tight control over their activities. Government rhetoric, led by
Interior Minister Gen. Aronda, oscillated between hostility and conciliation.
Two donor-funded public health projects were raided and suspended respectively.
While there were no major political protests 79 , the ‘Unemployed Youth’
attracted media attention by releasing yellow-painted pigs in parliament and
on Kampala’s main street, and politely defying the police and the court. 80
3.2. Crisis of the judiciary
Corruption, political pressure and the absence of a substantive chief justice
constrained the judiciary’s independence. The re-appointment of Chief Justice
Benjamin Odoki by the President in July 2013, following his retirement
due to constitutional age limits a month earlier, sparked legal battles and vocal
discord between the executive, parliament and the judiciary. 81 The Constitutional
Court nullified the appointment in August 2014, followed by further
legal action seeking to force Museveni into a new appointment. 82 In March
2015, the President’s nomination of Bert Katureebe, who enjoys broad support
from the legal fraternity for his integrity, ended an almost two year battle
over the meanwhile vacant seat. 83 The new Chief Justice was quick to admit
that the judiciary was corruptible and called on the government to respect the
judiciary. 84 Museveni’s insistence on Odoki’s appointment in disregard of his
retirement age was taken by many to be the first step towards removing the
constitutional age limit for the presidency which has come to haunt the incumbent’s
plans for the future. Several inherently political battles being fought out
in court show why the appointment is so sensitive, including the parliamentary
mandate of the four MPs expelled from the NRM, the battle for Kampala
mayor between elected opposition member Erias Lukwago and KCCA, 85 the
amendments to the NRM constitution, and possibly the Mbabazi and Sejusa
77
Government of Uganda, “Public Order Management Act, 2013”.
78
Government of Uganda, “The Non-Governmental Organisations Bill”, 10 th April 2015;
Human Rights Watch, “Uganda bill threatens independent groups”, 20 th April 2015, http://
www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/20/uganda-bill-threatens-rights-independent-groups.
79
Except occasional attempts involving Lukwago and Besigye but usually curtailed by police.
80
Observer, 4 th July 2014.
81
The East African, 15 th March 2015.
82
Ruling on Constitutional Petition No. 39 of 2013, Gerald Karuhanga vs the Attorney General,
Constitutional Court of Uganda, August 4 th , 2014.
83
Observer, 6 th March 2015.
84
Daily Monitor, 22 nd April 2015.
85
Ruling on Lukwago vs Attorney & Another, Civil Application No. 6 of 2014, High Court of
Uganda, 21 st August 2014; Observer, 20 th February 2015; mediation led by Rugunda involving
opposition and KCCA after more than one year out of office after KCCA impeachment.