The Justice Forum (commonly referred to as JEEMA) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

. The party was originally established as a pressure group in 1995 under the one-party system of the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...

, as other political parties were not allowed until after the 2005 constitutional referendum. JEEMA has been participating in Uganda’s electoral politics and has fielded candidates at the presidential, parliamentary and local council levels since 1996. In 1996 and 2001, Kibirige Muhamad Mayanja, the first JEEMA party leader, contested for the Presidency of Uganda, and since then, the party has been represented in Uganda’s

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. Currently, it is one of the five parties with representation in the 10th parliament and local governments. JEEMA’s first National Delegates Conference was held on 28 March 2004 at Kolping Hotel in

Mityana Mityana, is a town in the Central Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Mityana District, and the district headquarters are located there. Location Mityana is approximately , by road, west of Kampa ...

, which saw the coming into force of the first party constitution, and the party was formally registered on 23 March 2005 after the referendum that re-instated a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...

in Uganda. Kibirige Muhamad Mayanja, who led the party from its inception in 1995, relinquished power to 33-year-old lawyer Asuman Basalirwa in 2010 at the party’s second Delegates Conference that was held at Tal Cottages in

Rubaga Lubaga is a hill in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. It comes from the Luganda word ''okubaga'', describing a process of "planning" or "strengthening" a structure while constructing it. For example, ''okubaga ekisenge'' means to str ...

. Under Basalirwa, the party started a transition from the founding members to newer ones, that have since occupied almost all senior positions of the party. JEEMA places significant importance on civil rights and justice, as well as

constitutionalism Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional ...

, and the party tends to be the most popular among the country's minority Muslim population.

Symbols

The Justice Forum party states that its goals are: * J''ustice'' for all, * E''ducation'' for all, * E''conomic revitalization'', * M''orality'', and * A''frican Unity'' The common name of the party, ''JEEMA'', is stated to be acronym of its stated goals, and is used as the party slogan. The party emblem and campaign sign is an index finger and thumb in a “V” shape, and the party motto is "justice for all."

Ideology

JEEMA defines itself as a "social justice and welfare party," and declines to label itself as capitalist, communist, or socialist. JEEMA is in favour of free essential social services (like health and education) to all citizens, moral and ethical conduct in government and politics, a regulated market to avoid unchecked capitalist exploitation, and favours decision of public matters through grassroots consultation. JEEMA stands for full dignity and respect to women, religions, races and ethnicities among other social groupings people identify with, and total respect and dignity to all nations of the world with no nation superior to another. The party supports a transition to

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

and the Westminster system at the national level, saying that Uganda has never had an election that has not been disputed by other players in the race and that the

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

system promotes more focus on an individual's personal beliefs rather than that of their constituents, which is claimed to be a cause of corruption. The party supports criminalising homosexuality. The party's only MP put forward a bill in March 2023 calling for the punishment of 10 years imprisonment for aggravated homosexuality.https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/mps-return-death-penalty-for-gays-4167928

References

{{Ugandan political parties 1995 establishments in Uganda Political parties established in 1995 Political parties in Uganda Organizations that oppose LGBT rights in Uganda