Court upholds victory of Mbale LCV chairperson

Mbale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Court has dismissed a petition by Alfred Namaasa against his rival and Mbale district LCV chairperson, Muhammad Mafabi. Namaasa garnered 15,249 votes against 17,887 votes polled by Mafabi in the January 2021 general elections.

He rejected the poll results and petitioned the high court accusing Mafabi of electoral malpractices such as voter bribery, ballot stuffing and multiple voting among others. He asked the high court to nullify Mafabi’s victory and declare him the duly elected chairperson of Mbale district.

This morning, Justice Anthony Oyuk Ojok dismissed Namaasa’s petition with costs, saying that he did not find substantive evidence to nullify Mafabi’s victory. He said the petitioner failed to prove to court about the said irregularities and how they affected the outcomes of the polls.

Mafabi’s lawyer, Akram Matovu said the judgment has reflected the true will of the people of Mbale and that the judge was sober in declaring their client as the chairperson of the district.

Mafabi welcomed the judgment and called upon his opponents to join him for the good of the district, saying that leadership comes from God.

Namaasa and his lawyer Eddy Nangulu have promised to appeal the judgment, saying that the judge ignored all the evidence tabled before him. He said they want to take the matter to a higher court, where they expect justice.

In a related development, Justice Ojok also dismissed the petition by Fred Kuranga against the election of the Mbale Industrial City Division Mayor, Muhamood Masaaba. In his petition, Kuranga accused Masaba of voter bribery, electoral malpractices and ballot stuffing among others.

However, Justice Ojok dismissed the petition with costs, saying it lacks merit. “The petitioner failed to prove that there were electoral malpractices, this court therefore did not find merit in this petition and it accordingly dismisses it with costs to the first and second respondents,” he ruled.

Masaba told journalists shortly after the ruling that it is now time for him to serve the people of Mbale city since the court has decided that he was duly elected.

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