JEEMA undecided on attending IPOD summit

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Justice Forum Party is undecided on whether to attend the 3rd summit of Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue-IPOD.

The summit scheduled for Friday this week at Kololo Independence grounds shall be chaired by the National Resistance Movement- NRM Chairman Yoweri Museveni.  

The summit that brings together presidents of Political Parties with representation in Parliament was announced on Monday by the NRM Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba. 

Lumumba, who is the chairperson of the IPOD Council, told the press that Secretaries General of IPOD member Political Parties convened a meeting and agreed to organise a Summit under the theme “Dialogue for National Cohension”.

At the same event, Secretary General of Uganda People’s Congress-UPC Fred Ebil, JEEMA’s Muhammad Kateregga and Democratic Party-DP’s Gerald Blacks Siranda said their parties would attend the summit.

However in a twist of events today, the Spokesperson of JEEMA Abdunoor Kyamundu flanked by the Deputy Secretary General Fredrick Kasajja Kibuuka said that the Party was undecided about attending the Summit.

Kyamundu says they cannot participate in a summit when there are human rights violations like kidnaps happening in the country and the government yet to address the matter.

He also says that they need to know why some resolutions made at previous summits have not been implemented. One of the resolutions is in regards to the Public Order Management Act -POMA. IPOD passed regulations to guide implementation of the Act but they have not been tabled before parliament for adoption.

Kyamundu also says they do not have the agenda of the summit. He says until all the above are addressed, the party is hesitant to participate in the upcoming summit.

Yesterday while announcing the summit, NRM’s Kasule Lumumba listed a number of issues she said the IPOD council had agreed upon to be discussed at the summit.

She said, the Summit would discuss the events witnessed in the just concluded elections such as violence, hate speech and sectarian talk among others. Also, that they would review resolutions made in the 2018 and 2019 Summits to assess progress.

But, JEEMA Deputy Secretary Fredrick Kasajja Kibuuka says the council agreed that members go back to their parties and agree on what should be discussed in the summit. He says what was suggested at the meeting was supposed to be presented to political parties for adoption, something JEEMA hasn’t done yet.

He says the NRM is rushing the process and this has made them suspicious.

IPOD is an organ that brings together parties with representation in Parliament to dialogue on issues affecting the country and political players in the country.

Current members are the National Resistance Movemenet-NRM, Democratic Party-DP, Forum for Democratic Change-FDC, Justice Forum-JEEMA and Uganda People’s Congress-UPC.

Already, the FDC announced that it would not participate in the election. It is the NRM, UPC and DP still committed to attend.

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