The High Court in Masaka has nullified the election of two more Members of Parliament in Rakai District.
The latest affected MPs: Juliet Ssuubi Kinyamatama (Rakai woman) and Amos Mandela (Buyamba County), also belonging to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.
The court recently nullified the election of MPs Christopher Kalemba (Kakuukto County) and Boaz Nsinsima Kasirabo (Kkokki County), all in Rakai District. Both are members of NRM.
The election of Ms Kinyamatama and Mr Mandela were challenged by their former competitors, who claimed they lacked requisite academic papers and that there were gross electoral malpractices respectively.
The election of Ms Kinyamatama and Mr Mandela were challenged by their former competitors, who claimed they lacked requisite academic papers and that there were gross electoral malpractices respectively.
Justice Lawrence Gidudu ruled that Ms Kinyamatama and Mr Mandela were culpable of election offences that directly affected the outcomes of the polls in a substantial manner hence earning them undue victory.
Court also ruled that Mr Daniel Baguma, the Rakai District returning officer was liable of irregularities and ordered that he be restrained from conducting any elections in the area because of noncompliance with electoral laws.
Ms Robina Ssentongo, an independent candidate who lost to Ms Kinyamatama with a difference of 893 votes, according to the Electoral Commission tally sheet, filed a petition, challenging the results.
In her petition, Ms Ssentongo complained of deployment of security personnel who raided several polling stations and ordered the returning officers to submit unused ballot books which they replaced with pre-ticked ballots in favour of the NRM candidates.
She also accused the returning officer of tolerating declaration of results from forms that had visible arithmetic errors intended to benefit the first respondent.
Although the Electoral Commission represented by Mr Geoffrey Kandeebe denied the allegation and asked for dismissal of the petition, court found substantive evidence pinning the two respondents to the accusations.
Justice Gidudu ruled that evidence from a number of witnesses proved there was ballot staffing in favour of Ms Kinyamatama.
Mr Amos Mandela (L) with President Museveni during campaigns ahead of the February 2016 elections.
“The submission of these witnesses cannot be under looked as falsehoods and court was invited to examine them until they were found genuine and acted to the advantage of the first respondent,” the judge said in his ruling.
Particularly, several witnesses pinned Mr James Mugume, the Kalungu District Internal Security officer—formerly Rakai District Internal Security Officer, and his accomplice only identified as Mr Ssaka, who reportedly went around polling stations and threatening to harm voters in case they voted anybody other than the NRM candidate.
On the other hand, court nullified Mr Mandela’s election on the grounds that he forged his Ordinary Level certificate.
Mr Ivan Bwowe sued Mr Mandela, alleging that he presented certificates in name of Nandela Amos for his nomination as Mandela Amos.
He also alluded that although the responded had allegedly obtained a diploma from Nsamizi Training Institute of Social Sciences before he enrolled for a Bachelors and Master’s degrees from Makerere University, he impersonated Nandela Amos with intentions to irregularly obtain academic qualifications.
Although the respondent told court that this was a typing error made the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), the judge faulted him for failure to rectify the mismatch even when he had noticed it 28 years ago.
Court ruled that Mr Mandela was a beneficiary of forgery which also infects his subsequent academic awards, thereby rendering them void.
