By Hillary Nsambu
THE Electoral Commission was justified to refuse to register a political party bearing the name âKabaka Yekkaâ, the Constitutional Court has ruled.
The Court made the ruling in response to a petition in which Paul Kafeero and Herman Kazibwe had sought to have the commission and the Attorney General register their party, Kabaka Yekka.
The court ruled that the party, would create confusion with the Buganda cultural institution, whose head is the Kabaka.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Christine Binayiisa Kitumba, said since the Kabaka was the cultural leader of Buganda, the use of his name would divide the people basing on ethnic origin or tribe.
âThe petitioners would interfere with the rights of the Baganda who wish to peacefully practice their cultural right of having a traditional leader,â Kitumba argued.
âRight-thinking people are likely to assume that the Kabaka was indulging in partisan political activities contrary to the Constitution. This would cause unwarranted divisions contrary to the constitutional principle of unity,â Kitumba argued.
The petitioners, who were represented by Eva Luswata Kavuma, had accused the elections body and the Attorney General of breaching the Constitution when they refused to register the party. Kafeero and Kazibwe argued that this violated their rights.
However, the court agreed with Senior State Attorney Margaret Nabakooza that the party was likely to be confused with Buganda Kingdom as a cultural institution.
The court said the petitioners rights to form a political party must be regulated by the constitutional provisions and the Political Parties and Organisations Act.
According to the Act, no person should form a political party or organisation basing the membership on sex, race, colour or ethnic origin, birth, creed or religion, words, symbols or slogans, which could arouse divisions among the people.
In the early 1960s, there was a political party called Kabaka Yekka that fought to safeguard Bugandas monarchy and federalism. The party entered into an alliance with the Uganda Peoples Congress in 1962 to form the first post-independence government.
But the alliance had collapsed by 1965 following a dispute between the then non-executive President, Edward Mutesa and the Prime Minister, Milton Obote, the UPC president. Kabaka Yekka was disbanded a few years later.
Source: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/626452
Photo : http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/4/4e/200px-MutesaII.jpg