By Tegike Ashirafu
Parliamentary Elections Act 2005 as amended requires all persons who intend to contest to possess minimum qualification of an Advance level certificate of Education or its equivalent and one must be a voter where is contesting.
The concluded general election of January 2021 attracted an increase in the number of contestants in both presidential and parliamentary elections most youths. However, the success of many is being threatened in courts for reasons of possession of fake academic documents, intimidation of supporters, ballot stuffing and many others.
In Wakiso district, one of the districts with big numbers of voters with 4 municipalities including Nansana, Makindye Ssabagabo, Kiira, and Entebbe municipality and 3 constituencies but by the end of May, 3 petitioned to court challenging MPs elect academic qualifications.
According to the Judiciary’s public relations officer Jameson Karemani in a media briefing, the High Court, sitting in Jinja district, received 13 election petitions, Fort Portal 12, Mbarara 6, Masindi 8, Masaka 5, Soroti 6, Lira 3 Mbale 17, Arua 5, Gulu 3, Mukono 5, Kabale 3, Mpigi 2, Mubende 5 while 11 petitions were filed at the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala.
By the end of April over 100 MPs’ electoral victories were being challenged in court, some on grounds of electoral malpractice, nomination errors and others on presentation of fake academic papers where some Petitioners have been seen withdrawing cases or cases being dismissed by courts.
Challenging academic documents
Ssempala Kigozi Vs Sserukenya
In Makindye-Ssabagabo Municipality, Emmanuel Ssempala Kigozi (independent) challenged MP-elect David Sserukenya’s victory before the High Court Justice Winifred Nabisinde citing lack of the required academic qualifications though this case was dismissed by court on grounds of failure by the applicant to serve the respondents with a petition copy formally applying for case withdraw.
Edgar Lubadde Vs Nsubuga Paul
In Busiro North County parliamentary race, Edgar Lubadde a candidate who came last asked the court to declare him the winner of the January 14 elections after scoring 199 votes and challenged the election of Nsubuga who scored 21,401 votes on the ground that he lacked the necessary academic qualifications to contest as a Member of Parliament as required by law, at the time of his nomination.
Lubadde petitioned that in the absence of the qualification, Nsubuga presented to the Electoral Commission academic documents that did not belong to him, but another person though they later agreed with his respondents to settle the matter amicably outside court.
Case to watch out for
Musoke Hamisi Walusimbi Vs Wakayima Musoke Hannigton Nesreko
Nansana Municipality parliamentary race attracted 9 contestants, Wakayima Musoka Hannington Nsereko (NUP) who garned 67862 votes, Kasule Robert Sebunya (NRM) 15367 votes and the others, Kaweesa Stephen 8930 votes, Sekyewa Rashid Khamis scored 3911, Katumwa David got 2364 votes, Kibuuka Edwrine 2253, Musoke Enoch Kintu scored 1761 votes Musoke Hamisi Walusimbi (FDC) and Alliance for National Transformation (ANT’s) Kaaya Rajab Semululu scored 744 and 703 respectively. However, Musoke Hamisi Walusimbi who came second last petitioned to the court contesting the declaration of Wakayima Musoka Hannington Nsereko (NUP) as invalid.
Hamisi Walusimbi recalls that although he contested as Wakayima Musoka Hannington Nsereko, his real name is Musoke Hannington, according to his Primary Leaving Examination, Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advance Certificate of Education (UACE) and that he sat for all the three examination sets using the above name though Walusimbi claims not challenging the names but rather the irregularities in Wakayama’s academic qualifications.
In an affidavit seen by this paper, Musoke Hannington sat for PLE at Nansana Catholic School in 1988 under index No: 24150/035 and scored 27 aggregates and the same Musoke Hannington during his admission to Old Kampala Secondary School he had scored 8 aggregates under different index No: 023 at Nansana Catholic School 1988 meaning the same person sat for PLE two times in the same year using different index numbers.
“In the same entry to Old Kampala Secondary School the same Musoke Hannington’s date of birth recorded as 24/December 1974. However, while registering with National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) for national ID, he indicated that his date of birth is 04/ April 1974,” states the affidavit.
Petition to Object Nomination
On 8th October 2020, Mitala Ssekilanda Cosia and Lukwago Dirisa Sebude both registered voters in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso district petitioned the Independent Electoral Commission in opposition to the nomination of Wakayima Musoke Nsereko Hannington as candidate for Nansana Municiplaity Member of Parliament in the upcoming 2020-2021 general elections on grounds that he was impersonating as Hannington Musoke and using the academic documents which didn’t belong to him.
“We contend that Hannington Musoke was a totally different person from Wakayima Musoke Nsereko Hannington. Change of names by deed poll does not make one to own or takeover some other persons academic documents,” reads the petition in part.
The two also added their respondent faulted electoral laws by being nominated as candidate in 2015 general elections of 2016 yet he was not a registered voter which contravenes section 1 and 4 of the parliamentary Elections Act 2005 as amended.
Notification of Intention to Electoral Commission
On 14th october 2020, Semanda Umar of Nabweru South 1 in Wakiso District through their lawyer Mugarura Kwarisiima and Co. Advocates notified the National Independent Electoral Commission to bar Mr. Wakayima Musoke from being nominated alleging lack of minimum academic professional required by the body for one to stand for a parliamentary position.
Meanwhile in the Electoral Petition No: 0050 and 102 of 2016 the case of Wakayima Musoke and Electoral Commission Vs Robert Kasule Sebunya, the justices of the Court of Appeal examined Mr. Wakayima’s academic documents and ordered that his nomination was in error and he didn’t possess the required academic qualifications to able him contest.
“The first appellant was nominated in error for a member of parliament for Nansana Municipality constituency because he was not a registered voter and did not possess the minimum academic qualifications of “A” level or its equivalent,” the judgment reads.
Therefore, Semanda believes, Mr Wakayima Musoke since that time has not acquired any additional qualifications and instead has tried to circumstance the court ruling by taking a deed poll
Wakayima’s Deed Poll
On 29th, June, 2020, Wakayima took an oath changing as required by the law but according to Walusimbi’s defense, the name Hannington Musoke which is reflected on the academic documents for Wakayima is not indicated in the deed poll which make him a different person from the one who sworn the deed poll.
Wakayima’s Defence
However, the evidence submitted before the court by Wakayima shows that he studied from Old Kampala Secondary School for both Ordinary and Advanced Level of education before obtaining Diploma in Education from the Institute of Teachers Education, Kyambogo.
Wakayima says while at birth he was baptized as Hannington Musoke notes that he has since procured a formal change of name as entitled for under the law, and such change of name does not disentitle him from the academic record obtained under his former name.
During the submission of the rejoinder, Wakayima’s lawyer Richard Latigo told the court that the question right now should be whether his client has gone through all the processes to effect that the academic documents he submitted to the Electoral Commission can be attributed and traced back to him.
In 2017, the Court of Appeal threw Wakayima out of Parliament arguing that the name under which he was nominated Hannington Wakayima Musoke Nsereko was not in the voter’s register. The court observed that the registered voter was Musoke Hannington Nsereko and the same court ruled that such discrepancies in Wakayima’s names indicated that he also lacks the minimum academic qualifications.
According Walusimbi’s Lawyers M/s. Kabega, Bogezi and Bukenya Advocate, the High court judge Justice Henrietta Wolayo has promise to give the court ruling within seven days from the time of this publication after the defense side had submitted.
