New Year’s Message

Democratic Party wishes to congratulate Ugandans on reaching the New Year 2022, internally our focus this year is going to be recruitment and building of party structures. Last year the party through the office of the National Organizing Secretary embarked on a process of building and rebuilding structures, which is going to be carried forward this year.

DP to offer legal service to Boda Boda riders who are discriminated

There are several campaigns that we ran last year which have yielded namely the campaign to fully open the economy, the government has heeded this call however we think that this has been long overdue.

That said, the manner in which the economy is to be opened as per the President’s speech is couched on isolation, targeting and persecuting those in the transport sector, for instance, It is absolute prejudice to deny Boda Boda riders an opportunity to work in the times when others with whom they are in the same sector are allowed to operate. This is done with the utmost level of indifference and want of courtesy to give reasons why such a decision is made.

We believe that this is the time when Boda Boda riders should fight in unison to demand that government allows them to operate fully at all times as is the case for taxis and buses. They have been isolated, it is called discrimination contrary to article 21 of the constitution. Boda Boda riders should approach us for legal muscle, the legal department of DP is ready to cause litigation. We are only awaiting instructions from the leadership of the Boda Boda riders. We shall stand with you.

Whereas the rest of the transport means were opened to operate fully, the quixotic, anomalous and ambiguous conditions under which they are to operate is bound to fail or expose the drivers to blatant extortion of money by the quack law enforcers, there are many unanswered questions for instance, who will determine the authenticity of the vaccination card? What remedy do those that forget theirs at home have? What legal framework supports these guidelines? etc

DP advise to the Chief Justice to issue Practice Directives heeded

On the 19th day of October 2021 the Democratic Party dissuaded the government to drop the idea of a constitutional amendment intended to curtail the discretionary powers of the judiciary to grant bail in matters of capital offences, we instead advised that the Chief Justice should issue Practice Directives to guide the judicial officers in granting bail.

The guidelines were issued, on the inference that these have been furnished to supplant the said constitutional amendment we count this a success accruing from the campaign we started last year where we had even assembled our machinery to engage Ugandans through a referendum as to whether the discretionary power of the judiciary to grant bail should be scrapped.

We managed to shift the debate from a constitutional amendment to which guidelines should be amended and to what extent should it be dealt with.

DP calls government to ensure that the aid extended to schools trickles down to parents through reduced fees

The education sector is fully opening beginning next week and the government has earmarked over 32 billion to jumpstart the educational institutions, we now ask that let the beneficiaries of this fund cause its reflection through reduced fees that the parents are charged. If for instance, a school has been paying shillings 200,000 let this be divided by a half. The government should ensure that the aid trickles down to benefit the parents as well.

Our research shows that 50% of the parents won’t be able to pay first term school fees because of lack. It is therefore appropriate that the government empowers the parents to take their children back to school by causing subsidies in the fees paid to the beneficiaries of the fund.

Lastly, we implore the school owners to be lenient with parents and accept items like grains, services to the school by the parents in lieu of school fees at least for this term beginning on the 10th. Jan. 2022.

Happy New Year

Okoler Opio Lo Amanu
0700727704 / 0775107003
Spokesperson DP