In his petition, a concerned citizen Pius Kabiswa contends that article 108 2 of the constitution that empowers the President to appoint his Vice contravenes article 59 that mandates the citizens to elect their leaders. He wants the constitutional court to declare the article inconsistent.
Pius Kabiswa Kiryowa, a Ugandan national referring to himself as a concerned citizen, has petitioned court challenging a constitutional provision that gives the President Powers to appoint the Vice President.
In his petition, Kabiswa contends that article 108 (2) of the constitution that empowers the President to appoint his Vice contravenes article 59 that mandates the citizens to elect their leaders. He wants the constitutional court to declare the article inconsistent.
The constitution provides that the President shall, with the approval of parliament by a simple majority, appoint a Vice President. It further states that the Vice President shall deputize the President as and when the need arises.
In his petition, Kabiswa argues that since the constitution also empowers the Vice President to perform functions of the president, the person occupying the office should be directly elected by the people through universal adult suffrage.
In justifying his legal cause, Kabiswa cites the example of the Speaker of Parliament whom he said performs the functions of the President but he/she is elected by legislators who are the voices of people in their constituencies.
To that effect, the petitioner wants court to declare that the current process of the Vice President's appointment is a violation of people's rights to decide on the governance of their country.
Kabiswa‘s other prayer to court is to issue orders to the Electoral Commission to organize elections through which candidates aspiring to assume the office of the Vice President can be elected by the general public.
Unlike Uganda, the Kenyan constitution provides for the election of the Deputy President by adult suffrage.
At the time of filing this story, the court had not yet summoned the Attorney General who is the listed as the respondent in this matter before a hearing date could be fixed.
