Ugandas 73-year-old longest serving President Kaguta Museveni will contest again in the 2021 presidential elections if he wishes after courts major decision on Thursday.
The Constitutional Court Justices made their rulings in the age limit petition where petitioners challenged the abolishment of presidential age limit and extension of MPs tenure from 5 to 7 years.
Last year in December, 317 MPs voted in favour of amendment of article 102b whereas 97 were against it. The amendment sought to lift the minimum and maximum presidential age limit from the constitution.
4 out of the 5 judges on the bench, including the Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, ruled that lifting of the presidential age limit was constitutional.
All the 5 judges ruled that the extension of MPs terms from 5 to 7 years was unconstitutional; therefore null and void.
Justice Owiny-Dollo said "amendments were done with full compliance with the rules of procedure" and "found no fault on how this was done".
Raiding Parliament
Justice Owiny-Dollo, in his conclusion, rule that the intervention of security forces in Parliament during the age limit debate was wrong.
"Proof of this is they came in barehanded and in civilian clothes. It was an error in judgement by the army chief," he ruled.
Suspending MPs
Owiny-Dollo exonerated Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga of any wrongdoing in suspending some MPs saying "there is no evidence she usurped her powers in suspending MPs and bringing order to the house".
The Deputy Chief Justice ruled that the petitioners failed to provide evidence that the Speaker overstepped her authority when she suspended the MPS. "The speaker has the right to wield the stick when MPs are indisciplined," his verdict read.
Consultations
The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that there were proper consultations on age limit debate and were done properly ahead of the amendments.
Ugandan MPs were given UGX29m in a controversial move to consult their constituents on the amendment of article 102b
"I am fully satisfied that proper consultations were carried out by the MPs ahead of the amendment," Owiny-Dollo said in his ruling
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