Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Unity Platform -NUP’s former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu has filed 53 affidavits as evidence supporting his petition challenging the declaration of President Yoweri Museveni as winner of the January 14th polls.
The affidavits include one by former Presidential candidate Joseph Kabuleta, Jinja East Constituency MP Paul Mwiru, Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake and Gerald Karuhanga the MP Ntungamo Municipality among others.
The Supreme Court which is currently handling Kyagulanyi’s petition had given him Sunday February 14th as the last day for him to file the said affidavits and other additional evidence.
But one of Kyagulanyi’s lawyers Anthony Wameli has told URN after filing the said affidavits that it was a real struggle to collect the evidence because some of the people who were meant to provide the information were sick and others still in prisons having been arrested during the Electoral process.
Wameli who is also the head of Legal Department at NUP is however confident that the evidence adduced shall earn victory before the court of law. The evidence contained in the affidavits, he says exposes how the Electoral Commission acted against the law on several occasions.
In some of the Affidavits URN has seen, for instance in one sworn by Karuhanga, he contends that he was Kyagulanyi’s agent at Iriango Primary School polling station where he witnessed allegations of ballot stuffing. He says before they started to vote, there was rainfall which prompted electoral officials to take ballots to a nearby church where people started voting from.
The Ntungamo Municipality MP alleges further that later at 3:40 pm when they resumed voting from the outside, a woman came off a Boda Boda and asked a presiding officer for ballot papers and she was given four of them which he handed over to the Chairman of Kashaka Cell, Nathan Musiime who started ticking them.
Evidence in the Affidavits also indicates that the Uganda People’s Defense Forces were engaged in multiple voting at Kabahambe Church of Uganda, Kabagenda Playground and Kikoni Parish headquarters.
In Paul Mwiru’s affidavit, he alleges that when vote counting at Masese Parish 1 polling station started, security officials from the Military Police cordoned off the area.
He says he was invited to the scene by one of his agents. At the station, Mwiru says, the officers put his agents on gun point and therefore the elections were marred by intimidation.
Mwiru adds that they attempted to stop the officers but they resorted to firing live bullets to disperse people who had come to stop them. He says the agents were forced to sign blank declaration forms while the ones that had original results were confiscated.
The registrar of the Supreme Court, Harriet Nalukwago Ssali acknowledged receipt of the affidavits in a session that dragged on up to almost 7pm.
Ssali says no further evidence shall be received from the petitioner after the deadline has elapsed.
The three respondents to this case namely Yoweri Museveni, Electoral Commission and the Attorney General were all represented and received the affidavits from court as per the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo’s Thursday directive. These respondents now have until February 20th to respond.
Museveni’s lawyer Esau Isingoma says they shall immediately read the affidavits and make responses.
Supreme Court shall deliver it’s judgement on the matter next Month not later than March 18th.
Kyagulanyi took Yoweri Museveni, the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General to court and asked that Museveni’s declaration as winner of the Election be annulled.
Kyagulanyi alleges cases of voter bribery, intimidation of voters, heavy deployment of security, arbitrary arrests and killings during the Electoral Commission.
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