By Daniel Mugoya.
The High Court has dismissed an application by the National Unity Platform (NUP) seeking to block the government and the Electoral Commission from excluding the party from receiving statutory political funding.
In his ruling delivered by Justice Collins Acellam, the court declined to grant an interim injunction that would have restrained the Attorney General and the Electoral Commission from implementing a directive issued by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs on 25th August 2025. The directive requires that only political parties that are members of the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) be eligible to receive statutory funds disbursed by government.
NUP had petitioned the court seeking temporary relief to stop enforcement of that directive, arguing that the order was unconstitutional, discriminatory, and an abuse of administrative power. The party maintained that it was being unfairly excluded from state funding despite being represented in Parliament and meeting all statutory requirements.
Through its Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya, NUP contended that the Minister’s directive would cripple its operations and cause irreparable harm to its activities as a registered national political party.
However, in his detailed ruling, Justice Acellam found that the application did not meet the legal threshold for the grant of an interim injunction. He agreed with the submissions of the Attorney General’s Chambers that the matter was overtaken by events, as the Electoral Commission had already disbursed funds to political parties that are members of IPOD in accordance with the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Act, 2025.
The judge noted that under the 2025 Amendment, statutory funding is now legally tied to membership in the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue and participation in its activities. He observed that the NUP had “at all material times denounced and shunned” IPOD and had not expressed any interest in joining the platform in accordance with the law.
Justice Acellam further ruled that there was no status quo left to preserve, since the disputed funds had already been released, and therefore the request for a temporary injunction was moot.
“The applicant’s motion has been overtaken by events and does not meet the threshold for the grant of an interim order,” the judge stated in his ruling, dismissing the application with costs.
The decision effectively upholds the government’s directive that only parties participating in the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue are entitled to receive statutory political funding.
NUP’s main case challenging the constitutionality of the 2025 amendments to the Political Parties and Organisations Act remains pending before the High Court.
