The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | It was illegal for the National Resistance Movement-NRM party Elections Dispute Tribunal to fail to decide on the legitimate candidate for the Mawogola North Parliamentary seat, the high court has ruled. Justice Musa Ssekaana delivered the verdict in his ruling on an election petition filed by Godfrey Sodo Aine Kaguta against his rival Shartsi Kutesa Musherure and the NRM party stemming from the contested Mawogola North primary election results.
Sodo petitioned the high court through his lawyers Acardia Advocates accusing the NRM party leadership for failing to declare him the winner of the primaries after defeating his main rival, Shartsi Kutesa Musherure, who wants to replace her father and Foreign Affairs minister, Sam Kahamba Kutesa. On September 30th, 2020, the Sembabule NRM District Returning Officer, William Katokozi declared Sodo winner with 17,343 votes followed by Musherure with 16,104 votes.
Musherure rejected the results of the poll and petitioned the NRM Elections Dispute Tribunal arguing that the primaries were marred by gross irregularities. The tribunal chaired by Enoch Barata failed to rule on the dispute and referred the matter to the Central Executive Committee (CEC) for guidance, which wasn’t provided.
The CEC instead referred the matter to the NRM vice-chairperson, Al-Hajj Moses Kigongo who allowed the two candidates to run as independents. This didn’t go down well with Sodo who decided to petition the high court for redress. He asked the court to find the decision of the NRM elections Tribunal to refer the matter to CEC illegal, saying it was tainted with illegality and procedural impropriety.
He argued that the NRM had failed in its obligation to follow and comply with its party constitution and the election regulations in the conduct of hearing and determination of disputes arising from party primaries. He also asked the court to declare him as the official party flag bearer in Mawogola North County. In his ruling delivered by email, Justice Ssekaana concurred with Sodo that the NRM Elections Dispute Tribunal acted in violation of the NRM Elections regulations of 2020 when it failed to make a definitive decision on the matter and instead chose to send it to the Central Executive Committee.
Court also found that when the complaint was brought to the Tribunal, it was heard by Isaac Kyagaba and Ahmed Kasule Musoke and the verdict was issued by Enoch Barata who never heard the grievances, which was improper. “The facts as presented clearly indicate that the person who made the decision as stated in the affidavit indeed never heard that the parties. This is a total breach of the duty to act fairly and thus puts the said decision in question for being illegal and in breach of rules for fairness as enshrined in both in the National Constitution and the NRM Constitution,” said Ssekaana.
He observed that it’s a cardinal principle in the judicial system that a case has to be decided by the authority hearing the arguments and a successor cannot decide a case without hearing the arguments afresh even if the arguments have already been advanced before the predecessor who left the case without deciding it himself.
He argued that as such the party’s decisions were illegal and tainted with procedural impropriety.
Ssekaana, who doesn’t clearly state whether Sodo is the official Mawogola North flag bearer on said “court cannot substitute an alternative decision-maker and that in many circumstances; the decision-maker will be free to reconsider the matter and make a fresh the decision provided that in so doing, he or she doesn’t repeat the error or make any further reviewable errors.”
He, however, directed NRM and Musherure to pay Sodo costs of the suit. Musherure’s lawyers led by David Mpanga told URN on the phone that they are not happy with the decision, saying they already filed a notice of appeal to challenge it
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