DP loses appeal over removal of Kiwanuka from party candidates’ list

What the report says

The Court of Appeal has dismissed a Democratic Party appeal in a long-running internal dispute with party member Benedicto Kiwanuka Galiko over his removal from a candidates’ list for party elections. The ruling upheld an earlier High Court decision that had found the removal unlawful. The case stems from challenges over the party’s internal election process, which Kiwanuka argued was procedurally improper and inconsistent with the DP Constitution.

According to the report from Nile Post, the appeal was heard by Justices Geoffrey Kiryabwire, Christopher Gashirabake and Asa Mugenyi. In the lead judgment, Justice Gashirabake said the DP’s grounds of appeal were too general and did not clearly identify the specific legal errors the party was asking the court to correct. The court said this failure meant the appeal did not meet the requirements for proper filing under the Court of Appeal rules.

The judges also found that rejecting the appeal on those grounds would not create an unfair outcome, since the High Court had already addressed the main issues and the disputed delegates’ conference had already taken place. The DP had argued that Kiwanuka did not meet the party’s requirements to contest, including membership and fee-related concerns, but the Court of Appeal said the lower court’s handling of the matter stood.

The appeal also challenged the High Court’s costs award, but the Court of Appeal said there was no sufficient basis to interfere. Each side was ordered to bear its own costs of the appeal.