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DAILY MONITOR Opposition Members of Parliament yesterday resolved to take legal action against the new army and parties laws that were passed by Parliament on May 20. The controversial Uganda People’s Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Political Pa
DAILY MONITOR
Opposition Members of Parliament yesterday resolved to take legal action against the new army and parties laws that were passed by Parliament on May 20.
The controversial Uganda People’s Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Political Parties and Organizations (Amendment) Bill, 2025, were both enacted by Parliament amid boycott by the Opposition.
Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of Opposition, told journalists after their closed-door meeting they would head to court on two main grounds. He cited the UPDF law defying the Supreme Court ruling that stopped the trial of civilians in military courts.
He also pointed out the rushed processing of the Bills without adequate public consultation. Mr Ssenyonyi said whereas they are skeptical about the independence of some judges, they would, nevertheless, appeal to the High Court.
“There are some judges who are still concerned about this country, and they have delivered a number of landmark judgments. That is why [President] Museveni hates some of them. We shall appeal to the Supreme Court and tell them they passed the ruling and should fight hard to uphold their ruling,” Mr Ssenyonyi said.
The caucus of opposition parties comprising the National Unity Platform (NUP), the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), and the Democratic Party (DP), among others, insist that both laws undermine democratic principles and the rule of law.
An official from the office of the LoP said at least 58 of 109 Opposition MPs attended the caucus meeting. They said they would liaise with legal minds in the country to prepare their grounds before heading to court, but did not mention any concrete date.
Meanwhile, the opposition lawmakers defended their move to boycott plenary, saying their stay would not have changed anything.
“The government single-handedly took a decision and said the Bill was going to be passed without any input from the stakeholders. This was communicated by the Government Chief Whip, hence there was nothing we could do to change anything,” Mr Ssenyonyi conceded.
“We tried to ask the Speaker to halt the passing of the Bills, but all in vain. If she had allowed our plea to allow consultation to happen, we could have stayed, because there was nothing urgent that we had to pass the UPDF Bill hurriedly,” he added.
United Opposition
Kitgum Municipality MP Denis Onekalit said boycotting the plenary was the right thing to do. “It was the right thing to move out of the House. We cannot legitimise their actions. We should make it hard for them. I know we shall go to court after, but the important thing is to go to court as a united Opposition,” he said.
Mr Joseph Ssewungu, the MP for Kalungu West, said some people who have not been attending plenary for the last four years had been ferried to cast their vote to bolster the government push for the laws.