Justice Simon Peter Kinobe has thrown out a legal challenge by former Aruu County MP, Odonga Otto, which sought to force the Electoral Commission (EC) to recognize him as the new leader of the Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP).
Justice Kinobe ruled that Otto’s case was not fit for “judicial review,” a legal process used to challenge decisions by public bodies like the EC.
Instead, the judge said the dispute was essentially a private argument between Otto and the party’s founder, Joshua Kaswabuli, over a controversial agreement to “buy” control of the party.
The case stems from a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in April 2023 between Otto, a lawyer and and Kaswabuli, the RPP’s national chairperson. The RPP, a small political party registered in 2013, has Kaswabuli and Isaac Igambi as its founding leaders.
Under the MOU, Otto agreed to help grow the party nationwide, fundraise, and organize a delegates’ conference within 12 months. In return, Kaswabuli would step down as chairperson once new leaders were elected. Otto also promised to refund up to Shs 50 million for costs Kaswabuli incurred in registering the party.
Otto claims he paid Kaswabuli Shs 4.7 million initially and another Shs 10 million during a party conference in Gulu in October 2023. He says this conference elected him as the new national chairperson and party president.
However, Kaswabuli disputes this, calling the event a “casual meeting of nine or ten people in a bar” where “they just talked casually and then drank lots of beer and no elections were held.”
According to Kaswabuli’s affidavit, Otto wasn’t even present, and the minutes were fabricated by a friend of Otto’s.
When Otto tried to file the new leadership details with the EC, the body halted the changes in a letter dated December 12, 2023.
The letter pointed out violations of the RPP’s own constitution, such as low attendance (failing to meet quorum requirements), exclusion of key existing leaders, and more office bearers than allowed.
Otto sued Kaswabuli, Igambi, and the EC, asking the court to overturn the halt and order the handover of party leadership.
But Justice Kinobe dismissed the application. He explained that judicial review is meant to check if public decisions are illegal, irrational, or unfair—not to settle private fights over rights.
“Judicial review is concerned not with the merits of the decision but the decision making process,” the judge wrote, quoting the case, Bwengye v Electoral Commission.
“It is not an appeal, and the jurisdiction of this court is exercised in a supervisory manner, not to vindicate rights as such but to ensure that public powers are exercised in accordance with the basic standards of legality, fairness and rationality.”
Kinobe ruled that the EC was simply doing its job.
“The commission was simply exercising its mandate as the regulator of political parties to ensure that whatever filings made to it are in tandem with the Constitution of the political party. This decision did not amount to changing leadership in the political party. It was merely a temporary or provisional pause of the political party’s processes,” he ruled.
Kaswabuli argued in court that Otto is not even a party member, as he never followed the RPP’s rules like paying for a membership card, taking an oath, or being active for at least 10 years to qualify for presidency.
He called the MOU invalid because it lacked party approval and denied receiving the full payments, saying the initial sum was just a “small donation” for overheads.
The ruling could set a precedent for how Ugandan courts handle internal party disputes, especially amid growing concerns about “party buying” ahead of the 2026 elections.
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