The forum for Democratic Change former Presidential candidate Col Dr Kizza Besigye has expressed shock at Friday evening’s constitutional court ruling, which banned all his party activities related to the infamous “Defiance Campaign.”
Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma issued an interim four week injunction yesterday stopping the party’s exercises including their weekly prayers, all forms of demonstrations, radio shows and press addresses that promote the defiance campaign.
The injunction followed an application filed by government, which raised concerns about the opposition party’s plans to interfere with President Yoweri Museveni’s swearing in ceremony slated for next month on 12th. FDC had reportedly planned a parallel inauguration of their own candidate Col Dr Kizza Besigye.
Besigye said last night after the news of the injunction came out, that he was appalled by the manner in which the ruling was made. He went on to term the Chief Justice’s actions as sheer “NRMism” adding the ruling in effect banned the FDC party as a whole.
He tweeted, “Effectively, the exparte (one-party) ruling by Constitutional Court’s Kavuma bans FDC party! This goes beyond judicial activism its NRMism!!”
Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana told press yesterday that Kavuma gave the ruling without hearing from the FDC side. He said however that the opposition party would be served later on to file their response in the main application.
Besigye further decried the manner in which the ruling NRM party was using the judiciary to serve its own interests.
He cited one of the celebrated Supreme Court Judges, Retired Justice Wilson Tsekooko who recently said “Cadre judges” were killing the image of the court.
Deputy Chief Justice Kavuma who previously served as a minister and an NRM cadre has often times been accused of twisting the laws to the advantage of the ruling party.
Kavuma however in an interview with the Observer, dismissed these accusations and asserted that he is only loyal to the law and not the NRM.