KIMIHURURA - The Liberal Party (PL) and five expelled members are all keenly awaiting today’s High Court verdict on a case in which the party leadership is accused of firing two former MPs and three others illegally.

After three months of legal battles, the High Court is due to decide whether the expelled members who include former MPs Elie Ngirabakunzi and Isaie Murashi, were illegally dismissed from the party.

Ngirabakunzi and Murashi lost their parliamentary seats as well.

High Court president Johnston Busingye set the ruling for today after receiving the contradicting statutes of the party following the plea from the plaintiffs claiming that they were sacked basing on unapproved statute.

The new version of the party statute that was presented to court by party lawyers have not been published in the official gazette and Ngirabakunzi and his four colleagues, through their lawyers, presented the old version which was published in 2003.

During the hearing, defence lawyer John Bosco Kazungu said that the claim is not the bonafide as the same statute had been used in other party endeavors prior to their sacking from the party and they had not objected.

"Even the various correspondences they wrote including a letter of complaint to party President before they brought the matter to court, they were quoting articles from this new statute,” Kazungu said.

However, the lawyer to the plaintiffs, Mbaga Tuzinde Mbonyimbuga argued that his clients only did that because of ignorance of the legal procedures.

"We all know that a statute is not binding until when it has been passed in the official gazette, what they did was out of ignorance but now that we are before a court of law, the laws have to be duly followed,” he told court.

And in their closing remarks, their lawyers had asked for Frw10 million for each of the two former MPs as damages in case they won the lawsuit.
For the other three expelled party officials – party president for the Southern Province, Dr Laurien Nyabyenda, Emmanuel Uwimana (first vice president for Western Province) and Emmanuel Musabyimana – the lawyers asked for indemnities worth Frw5m each.

The decision to sack the five politicians from the party came after they accused party president Protais Mitali, (also Commerce and Industry minister), party first vice president Senator Odette Nyiramirimo and others from the party executive, of rigging the hotly contested August 5 party elections.

The party dismissed the claims, and instead accused the five of attempting to split the party for personal benefits.

Ends