By Editorial,
The National Unity Platform (NUP) has petitioned the High Court’s Civil Division in Kampala, contesting what it calls the unlawful exclusion from statutory political party funding.
In a suit filed against the Attorney General and the Electoral Commission, NUP seeks a judicial review of a directive issued on August 25, 2025, by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao, which instructed the Electrol commission to distribute public funds to only six political parties, excluding NUP.
NUP, Uganda’s second-largest party in Parliament, argues that the minister’s directive is illegal, irrational, procedurally improper, and contrary to both the Constitution and the Political Parties and Organisations Act.
An affidavit by NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya states that the party has received quarterly statutory funding since the 2021/2022 financial year. At the September 18 IPOD Summit, where President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni handed over the IPOD Council leadership to Norbert Mao, parties including JEEMA, FDC, and UPC were present. NUP, however, was notably absent. End