Kampala - Uganda's leading lawyers sought
on Monday to overturn a law that critics say would allow
incumbent leader Yoweri Museveni to effectively become president
for life.
The law, passed last month, scrapped a constitutional
provision that limited the age of a presidential candidate to
below 75 years. It clears the way for Museveni, 73, and
president since 1986 to seek re-election in 2021 when the next
polls are due.
Francis Gimara, president of Uganda Law Society (ULS), told
Reuters the lawyers petitioned in court on Monday to nullify the
law.
"The overall climate in which that bill was discussed and
passed ... was wrong," Gimara said, citing a security raid on
parliament and insufficient consultations with the people.
Many Ugandans including the political opposition, religious
leaders and some members of Museveni's own ruling party opposed
the proposal to change the constitution.
Protests against the move erupted in different parts of the
country prompting police to use teargas, beatings and detention
to thwart them.
In September fist fights broke out in parliament for two
consecutive days as lawmakers opposed to the measure tried to
filibuster it.
In a move widely condemned by rights groups, security
personnel entered the debating chamber on the second day and
forcibly removed some legislators after the speaker suspended
them for involvement in the fighting.
Ugandan judges have made major anti-government rulings in
the past but some critics say judicial independence has
significantly eroded under Museveni's rule.
"That court is full is full of cadre judges so I am not very
optimistic," legislator John Baptist Nambeshe, referring to the
country's constitutional court.
Nambeshe is a member of the ruling party but he opposed the
law.
The phrase "cadre judge" is commonly used in Uganda to
describe judicial officers seen as allied with the ruling party.
Museveni has drawn mounting criticism from local and
international rights activists who view him as evolving into
another African strongman unwilling to give up power in the
prospective crude oil producer.
The move to clear legal hurdles and extend his rule also
mirrored similar manoeuvres by other leaders in the region that
have alarmed African democracy watchers.
In Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Burundi
efforts by leaders to hold onto power have triggered
instability.