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By Enatu Steven
Ugandan lawyer based in Soroti city, Joshua Okello has boldly dragged the Attorney General of UK and the United Kingdom government to court accusing the defendants of defaming Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among in the wake of sanctions imposed by the British government.
In his application to court on the 7th May 2024, Okello wants the High Court Civil Division in Kampala to affirm that the iron sheets for which the UK government based to sanction the Speaker were indeed distributed to public schools, and that Andrew Mitchell, who criticized her for “passing the Anti-Homosexuality Act”, failed to specify how Among personally benefited from them in his statement.
The lawyer wants the court to declare that Speaker Among has never been accused of corruption in any court of law, contrary to the implications in the statement.
Okello also urges the court to assert that foreign partners, particularly the United Kingdom, should respect Uganda’s sovereignty. He further demands a mandamus order preventing the United Kingdom government or its representatives from unlawfully imposing sanctions on the Speaker of Parliament of Uganda, especially travel restrictions and asset freezes.
“An order prohibiting the respondent from exerting influence on decision-makers to conform to their value system, particularly regarding homosexuality,” the lawyer mentions in his filed lawsuit.
Okello seeks mandamus order barring foreign partners, especially the United Kingdom or the respondent, from interfering in Uganda’s internal affairs. He also seeks compensation for damages and legal costs.
According to Okello, the statement released on the United Kingdom government’s website announcing sanctions against Speaker Among based on alleged corruption involving the iron sheets distributed by the Prime Minister’s office is misleading.
He adds that Speaker Among and two other ministers have never faced corruption charges in any court of law, contrary to the statement’s insinuations. Based on this, Okello argues that the iron sheets were merely a pretext to mask the actual reason for the sanctions, which is Speaker Among’s position on the recently enacted Anti-Homosexuality Act.
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