In a Judgement delivered to parties via email on Thursday, Lady Justice Margaret Apiny dismissed Gaddafi’s petition on grounds that he failed to adduce satisfactory evidence to support his allegations against the winner Dennis Ssekabira and Electoral Commission.
The Petitioner Gaddafi Nassur
The High Court in Kampala has dismissed with costs an election
petition filed by former Katikamu North Parliamentary contestant Gaddafi Nassur.
In a Judgement delivered to parties via email on Thursday, Lady Justice Margaret
Apiny dismissed Gaddafi’s petition on grounds that he failed to adduce satisfactory
evidence to support his allegations against the winner Dennis Ssekabira and
Electoral Commission.
The Electoral Commission declared and gazetted Ssekabira of the National Unity Platform
as the winner with 18,716votes against Gaddafi’s 10,771votes.
However, Gaddafi petitioned the High Court demanding the nullification
of results on grounds of election offences that included voter bribery.
He also noted that the entire electoral process in Katikamu County North
Constituency, right from the start of the campaign period up to the
nominations, polling day and the tallying process was characterized by acts of
electoral malpractices and offences.
Gaddafi brought five affidavits from his supporters who reportedly
witnessed bribery and those how allegedly obtained money.
The NRM Youth League Chairperson Gaddafi also adduced MTN printouts
of call logs and mobile money transactions Ssekabira made during the election
time.
However, Ssekabira through his lawyers led by Nalukoola Luyimbazi
denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss the petition with costs
on grounds that it was full of falsehoods.
In her Judgement, Justice Apiny has expunged from the court record
the documents of call logs and printouts saying that Gaddafi obtained them,
seven days before he got the court order authorizing him to do so.
The order had been issued by Kakiri Magistrates Court in the name
of Detective Constable Samuel Komakech who was given authority to access the
call logs details of Ssekabira.
However, the Judge says that this implies the documents are questionable
and as such, they cannot be relied upon by her court.
“The statements complained of in the affidavit are in respect of
the assertions that the petitioner obtained the said court orders whereas not.
However, it is evident on the record that the documents attached do not indicate
that the petitioner applied for and obtained them, instead, the said orders
appear in the names of a police officer described as No. 59865 DC Komakech
Samuel”, reads the judgement in part.
According to Apiny, the documents in question were only supposed
to be tendered in court by the police officer to whom they were issued.
“This court considers it a deliberate lie for the petitioner to
state that he applied for that information whereas not. In my view, whatever is
presented by counsel for the petitioner describing how the petitioner lodged a
complaint with the police which was later investigated and the court orders
issued to the investigating officer is what ought to have been stated in the
petitioner’s affidavit in which he would disclose his source of information as
the investigating officer” said Apiny.
She further noted that it was Gaddafi’s responsibility to ensure
that the investigating officer swears an affidavit to introduce the documents
but he did not.
On allegations of bribery, Justice Apiny ruled that there was no
evidence on the voters register to show that the people whom Ssekabira during
the exercise were registered voters in Katikamu North.
“This court is mindful of the fact that in election matters, it is
necessary to exercise caution while evaluating each allegation of bribery and
to subject it to a high level of scrutiny as well as being alive to the fact
that in election petitions, in which the prize is political power, witnesses
may easily resort to telling lies in their evidence, to secure judicial victory
for their preferred candidate.”