George Owor v Attorney General & Anor (Constitutional Petition No. 38 of 2010)

Constitutional Court · [2011] UGCC 1 · 2011 Petition Granted ✦ AI-generated summary ↓ Download

Jurisdiction

Uganda

Case Type

Constitutional petition under Article 137 challenging the constitutionality of an MP's nomination and continued sitting in Parliament

Decision

Petition granted; the 2nd respondent's nomination as NRM flag bearer held invalid and null and void, and he is deemed to have vacated his parliamentary seat from the date of that nomination

The full judgment

Read the complete, verbatim text of this judgment.

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 5 (treatment unverified) Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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Holding

The Court held the petition raised genuine issues for constitutional interpretation and succeeded on all grounds. An MP elected on a political party ticket who joins another party, or an Independent who joins a party, must vacate the seat under Article 83(1)(g) and (h); such a member cannot validly be nominated on a party ticket without first resigning. These provisions are a legitimate derogation, within Article 43 limits, of the freedom of association (Article 29(1)(e)) and the right to stand independently (Article 72(4)). The 2nd respondent, an Independent who sought NRM nomination without resigning, made an invalid nomination and is deemed to have vacated his seat from the date of nomination.

Facts

The 2nd respondent withdrew his NRM party membership in January 2006 and returned his membership card, then stood and was elected to the 8th Parliament as an Independent member for West Budama North Constituency. He did not resign that seat. In August 2010, while still sitting as an Independent member, he offered himself for nomination on the NRM ticket to contest as a Member of Parliament in the 9th Parliament and was nominated as the NRM flag bearer in the same constituency. The petitioner, a Ugandan citizen, challenged the constitutionality of the 2nd respondent's nomination and his continued sitting in Parliament, contending these acts contravened Article 83 and other provisions of the Constitution. The respondents denied liability and argued the petition raised no issues for constitutional interpretation.

Issues

Whether the petition raises issues for constitutional interpretation.
Whether the 2nd respondent contesting in NRM party primary elections, having been elected as an Independent Member of Parliament, contravenes the Constitution.
Whether the 2nd respondent continuing to sit in Parliament as an Independent member, having joined the NRM political party, contravenes the Constitution.
Whether the petitioner is entitled to the remedies prayed for.

Orders

The petition succeeds on all four issues.
The petitioner is entitled to all the prayers contained in paragraph 4 of the petition.
The Registrar is directed to serve a copy of the judgment on the Hon. Speaker of Parliament and the Chairman of the Electoral Commission to take appropriate action.

Key headnotes

Constitutional Law — Constitutional Petitions — Disclosure of a Cause of Action under Article 137

A constitutional petition discloses a cause of action where it specifies the act or provision complained of, identifies the constitutional provision with which it is inconsistent, and seeks a declaration to that effect; a constitutional petition is to be given a more liberal and broader interpretation than an ordinary plaint.

Electoral Law — Membership of Parliament — Vacation of Seat under Article 83(1)(g)

A Member of Parliament elected on a political party ticket who, before the end of that Parliament, leaves the party to join another party or to become an Independent must vacate the seat, and cannot be validly nominated for election on another party's ticket or as an Independent unless he has first resigned or vacated the seat.

Electoral Law — Independent Members of Parliament — Vacation of Seat under Article 83(1)(h)

An Independent Member of Parliament who joins a political party before the end of the parliamentary term must resign the seat; if he fails to do so, his nomination on a political party ticket for election to the next Parliament is invalid, and he is deemed to have vacated the seat from the date of nomination.

Constitutional Law — Fundamental Rights — Derogation under Article 43

The freedom of association under Article 29(1)(e) and the right to stand for election as an Independent or party candidate under Article 72(4) are not absolute and may be derogated from within the limits of Article 43; Article 83(1)(g) and (h) constitutes a legitimate derogation from those freedoms.

Statutory Interpretation — Constitutional Interpretation — Reading the Constitution as an Integrated Whole

Constitutional provisions must be read together as an integrated whole; a clear and unambiguous provision is to be construed according to the natural meaning of the words used.

Legislation cited (7)

Constitution of Uganda 1995 art.137(3)
Constitution of Uganda 1995 art.83(1)(g)
Constitution of Uganda 1995 art.83(1)(h)
Constitution of Uganda 1995 art.72(4)
Constitution of Uganda 1995 art.43
Constitution of Uganda 1995 art.29(1)(e)
Constitution of Uganda 1995 art.86

Cases cited (5)

Baku Raphael Abudra and Abiga Kania v Attorney General (Constitutional Petition No. 1 of 2003)
Attorney General v Tinyefuza (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 1997)
Serugo v Kampala City Council (Constitutional Appeal No. 2 of 1998)
Nakachwa Joyce v Attorney General and 2 Others (Constitutional Petition No. 2 of 2001)
Isha Otto Awizi v Betty Amongi and 26 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 134 of 2010)

Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.