Court Allows Nasur to File More Affidavits in Katikamu North Election Petition

The High Court in Kampala has allowed Gaddafi Nasur, the loser in the Katikamu North Parliamentary elections to file four more affidavits. 

Gaddafi Nasur who contested on the National Resistance Movement-NRM ticked is contesting the victory of Denis Sekabira of the National Unity Platform-NUP.

Nasur filed an application and supported it with several affidavits four of which, they later learnt, were sworn before a commissioner of oaths whose practising certificate as an advocate of the court had expired. The affidavits are of Edith Nakaweesa, Robert Tumwine, Moses Matovu Kato and Fred Mugerwa who allegedly received bribes from Sekabira.

Last week Gadafi's lawyers led by Asuman Nyonyintono applied before the court to allow the four witnesses to validate their affidavits by swearing fresh affidavits before a commissioner of oaths.

They said it would be unjust for Nasur and witnesses to suffer because of the wrongdoing of an advocate who administered the oath.

On Tuesday, Justice Margaret Apiny granted the application saying that Section 14 A allows a litigant to swear an affidavit before another licensed commissioner of oath.

The section provides that the client who is a party in the proceedings shall, where necessary, be allowed time to engage another advocate or otherwise to make good any defects arising out of any such event.

"This is our view means that the matter shall not proceed with defective error but time shall be granted to the innocent litigant to rectify the error. It is in the interest of justice that this application must be heard" ruled Justice Apiny.

She further directed the petitioner to maintain the content of the affidavits as they were in the earlier affidavits and directed that the file and serve those affidavits to the respondents by 1st September 2021.

Justice Apiny directed Nasur to file written submissions by September 3 and Sekabira by September 7.

Sekabira got 18, 716 votes while Nasur who contested on the National Resistance Movement-NRM ticket garnered 10,771 votes.

Nasur challenged his victory citing bribery of voters. He presented before court evidence of phone call logs and mobile money transactions to prove the bribery allegations.