Nantaba set to battle another election appeal

Kayunga, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A second election appeal has been filed against Kayunga District Woman Member of Parliament (MP) Idah Erios Nantaba by her rival Jackline Kobusingye Birungi.

The appellant Kobusingye is one of six women Nantaba trounced in the January 14th 2021  elections to be declared and gazetted as the Kayunga District Woman MP. This was after she stood as an Independent and obtained 47,725 votes against Kobusingye’s 10,202 votes.

Kobusingye who came in the third position after National Unity Platform’s Harriet Nakwedde who garnered 37,117 votes was not happy with the outcome. She thus decided to petition the Mukono High Court seeking  to nullify the victory of Nantaba.

Kobusingye  accused Nantaba for having forged Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education which she obtained from Mukono Town Academy in 1998 and presented it to the Electoral Commission ahead of nomination.

She further noted that Nantaba’s ‘O’ level certificate issued in 1996 bears the initial ‘E’ and Advanced certificate issued in 1998 bears only the name ‘Nantaba Idah which she indicated that the documents did not belong to the legislator.

However, in her defense Nantaba told court that the discrepancies in her names Nantaba Idah, Nantaba Idah E, and Nantaba Idah Erios were rectified in a statutory declaration which was gazetted in the Uganda Gazette of October 2, 2020 to mean that they all belonged to one person and herself.

As a result, Lady Justice Olive Kazaarwe Mukwaya dismissed the petition saying that Kobusingye did not adduce evidence to prove that Nantaba was not the genuine owner of the O and A’level certificates in question besides attaching a copy of a statutory declaration clarifying mistakes in her name.

However, not happy with the decision, Kobusingye through her lawyers of Asingwire and Partners Advocates and Legal Consultants has filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal in Kampala raising three grounds to challenge Justice Kazaarwe’s decision.

Kobusingye contends that the learned trial Judge erred in law and fact in finding that there was no evidence proving that the name discrepancies referred to another person other than Nantaba who is jointly sued with the Electoral Commission.

“The learned trial Judge erred in law finding that the word ‘supplementary’ was explained by the Respondent/Nantaba thereby arriving at an erroneous conclusion”, reads the appeal.

She also faults the trial Judge for having reportedly erred in her evaluation of evidence thereby arriving at the wrong conclusion.

Kobusingye now wants the Court of Appeal to allow her appeal, the Judgement and orders of Justice Kazaarwe be set aside, declare the seat of Kayunga District Woman MP vacant and order the Electoral Commission to organize a by-election in the district.

This is the second appeal being filed against Nantaba, the former State Minister of Information Communication, Technology and National Guidance.

Early this month, a Nazigo Sub-County Councilor in Kayunga district Ritah Nabadda challenged the decision by Justice Kazaarwe to dismiss a petition in which she had also accused the Nantaba for lack of minimum academic qualifications to be a member of parliament.

Kazaarwe had dismissed Nabadda’s petition  on grounds that it was incompetent as it was not supported by the required 500 signatures of registered voters.

The law provides that if a voter is to challenge the victory of someone, he or she must get a minimum of 500 signatures of registered voters in the area where the election was held to back up their petition.

Initially, the victory of Nantaba was challenged by three people including Harriet Nakwedde of National Unity Platform who garnered 37,117 votes and her petition has since equally been dismissed by the High Court.

Kobusingye’s appeal is one of the 50 appeals so far field before the Court of Appeal arising from 2021 general elections and High Court decisions.

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