Hardly twelve hours after former Prime Minister and Presidential hopeful, John Patrick Amama Mbabazi declined to pick the nominations for his party primaries, he has this evening written to President Museveni, saying he will not participate in the party elections over what he called illegal party regulations.
Through his lawyers, led by Fred Muwema, Mr Mbabazi says the party regulations that the requires the aspirant to pay a fee before aspiring in party elections is indirect conflict with the national constitution and “therefore illegal and unenforceable”.
“In the premises, our client shall not willfully lend himself to any process that stifles his right and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution in the guise of complying with the illegal regulations for the NRM primary elections in 2015,”
According to the new NRM regulations, a presidential aspirant is supposed to pay Shs 20million and Members of Parliament pay Shs 2million, a requirement Mbabazi protested and refused to pay Thursday morning July 16, 2015.
“First of all, there is legal requirement under any written law for one to pay fees before he aspires or obtains regulations for party primary elections. The demand therefore that our client pays nomination fee before he obtains nomination forms or party regulations is both illegal and repugnant,” the letter reads.
Mbabazi has been Museveni’s right hand man both in the struggle and in government for over four decades. However, Mbabazi fell out with his long term comrade two years ago when he was sacked for what Mr Museveni says was divisive methods of work within party and government.
