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Legislators

Opposition MPs Resolve to Take Legal Action Against New Laws

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

In a closed-door meeting, opposition leaders in the Ugandan Parliament resolved to challenge the recent passage of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Political Parties and Organizations (Amendment) Bill, 2025, by filing a lawsuit in court. The bills, which were enacted on May 20, have been criticized for defying a Supreme Court ruling and lacking adequate public consultation. Despite concerns about the independence of some judges, opposition leader Joel Ssenyonyi announced that they would appeal to the High Court, citing the support of judges who have delivered landmark judgments.

Key Takeaways:

  • The opposition will file a lawsuit in court against the new army and parties laws, citing Supreme Court rulings and lack of public consultation.
  • The opposition claims that the laws undermine democratic principles and the rule of law.
  • At least 58 out of 109 opposition MPs attended the caucus meeting to discuss the lawsuit.
  • The opposition believes that the bills were passed without adequate public consultation and defy a previous Supreme Court ruling.
  • Opposition leader Joel Ssenyonyi announced that they would appeal to the High Court and later the Supreme Court to uphold the previous ruling.
  • The opposition majority party is the National Unity Platform (NUP), with other participating parties including the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and the Democratic Party (DP).
  • Opposition MPs defended their decision to boycott plenary meetings, stating that their absence would not have changed the outcome of the bill's passage.

Statistics:

  • 58 out of 109 opposition MPs attended the caucus meeting to discuss the lawsuit.
  • The number of opposition MPs who boycotted plenary meetings.
  • 2 main grounds for the opposition's lawsuit: defying a Supreme Court ruling and lack of public consultation.
  • At least 4 years that some individuals have not been attending plenary meetings, yet were brought in to cast their votes for the government- pushed laws.

Sources:

  • Uganda People's Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2025
  • Political Parties and Organizations (Amendment) Bill, 2025
  • "Opposition vows to take legal action against new army and parties laws" (New Vision)

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