The High Court Civil Division in Kampala has dismissed a judicial review application filed by Nsubuga Jack alias Mandela challenging the National Resistance Movement (NRM) endorsement of Rt. Hon. Anita Annet Among and Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa as the party’s flag bearers for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 12th Parliament.
In a ruling delivered electronically on May 11, 2026, Justice Collins Acelam upheld preliminary objections raised by the respondents and found that the application was incompetent before court.
The case, filed under Miscellaneous Cause No. 0083 of 2026, had named the NRM, Speaker Anita Among, and Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa as respondents.
Nsubuga argued that the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) unlawfully endorsed Among and Tayebwa during a meeting held at State House Entebbe on January 29, 2026, without allowing wider participation from eligible members of the NRM Parliamentary Caucus.
He claimed the process violated constitutional principles of democracy, fairness, equality, political participation, and internal party democracy as provided under the Constitution of Uganda, the Political Parties and Organisations Act, and the NRM’s internal constitutional framework.
The applicant further contended that the NRM had evolved into a mass political organisation following a nationwide digital membership registration exercise launched in 2024, requiring broader consultative and participatory leadership selection processes.
Nsubuga sought several remedies including orders of certiorari to quash the endorsement decision, prohibition against its implementation, mandamus compelling a fresh participatory process, general damages, and costs.
However, the respondents opposed the application, arguing that the dispute concerned internal political party processes that were not properly amenable to judicial review.
In the ruling, Justice Acelam agreed with the respondents and held that the applicant lacked sufficient legal standing to institute the proceedings in the manner presented.
The judge noted that although Nsubuga claimed to act on behalf of 72,000 elected NRM LC1 chairpersons, he had not obtained a representative order or demonstrated lawful authority to sue on their behalf as required under Order 1 Rule 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
“The Applicant is neither shown to be a Member of Parliament within the said caucus nor a person demonstrated to have been eligible for consideration for the offices in question,” Justice Acelam ruled.
The court also found that the applicant had failed to exhaust internal dispute resolution mechanisms within the NRM before seeking judicial review.
Citing Rule 7A of the Judicature (Judicial Review) (Amendment) Rules, 2019, the judge emphasized that judicial review is a remedy of last resort and that political parties are entitled to resolve disputes through their established constitutional structures before courts intervene.
“The mere assertion that complaints or petitions were made does not, without more, satisfy the legal requirement of exhaustion,” the ruling stated.
Justice Acelam further observed that courts must exercise restraint in internal political party affairs unless there is clear evidence of illegality, irrationality, procedural impropriety, or constitutional violations after internal remedies have been exhausted.
The court noted that under Rule 9(3) of the NRM Parliamentary Caucus Rules of Procedure, the Central Executive Committee is empowered to consider names of interested members and recommend candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
While acknowledging that political parties remain subject to constitutional scrutiny, the judge held that not every internal political disagreement automatically becomes a justiciable matter for judicial review.
Consequently, the court dismissed the application.
However, Justice Acelam declined to award costs against the applicant, noting that the matter raised important constitutional and governance questions concerning internal political democracy and judicial review of party processes.
“Each party shall bear its own costs,” the judge ordered.
