The Masaka High Court has rejected an application by Kalungu West Member of Parliament Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu seeking to strike out evidence filed in support of a petition challenging his election victory.
Ssewungu, who contested on the National Unity Platform-NUP ticket, was declared winner of the January 15 parliamentary election with 10,106 votes, defeating independent candidate Ismail Ssemakula by just 46 votes.
Ssemakula, who polled 10,060 votes, challenged the results, alleging numerical errors and irregularities in the tallying process.
He also alleges that results from seven polling stations were altered by presiding officers, with figures inflated in favour of Ssewungu.
In support of his petition, Ssemakula filed affidavits from presiding officers and polling agents from the affected polling stations, disputing the results declared by the Kalungu District Returning Officer.
However, during a scheduling conference before Justice Joyce Kavuma, Ssewungu’s lawyers, led by Alexander Lule, raised objections to the admissibility of some of the affidavits.
The defence argued that some of the affidavits had been sworn by witnesses who were unable to read or write, without evidence showing that their contents had been properly interpreted to them before they were sworn and certified.
Ssewungu’s lawyers subsequently asked court to strike out 20 of the 24 affidavits filed in support of the petition.
They argued that the alleged defects rendered the affidavits legally incompetent and could undermine the petition.
The lawyers further alleged that the petitioner had taken advantage of less educated witnesses and caused them to swear affidavits without properly understanding their contents.
However, Justice Kavuma rejected the application, ruling that striking out the affidavits would deny Ssemakula an opportunity to have his election challenge heard on its merits.
The judge said granting the application would result in an abortion of the justice Ssemakula had sought from the court after the disputed election.
The ruling clears the way for the substantive hearing of Ssemakula’s challenge to Ssewungu’s election victory.
The court has also directed Ssemakula to produce the original declaration of results forms from the disputed polling stations for comparison with certified copies obtained from the Electoral Commission.
Ssemakula welcomed the ruling, saying it gives his team an opportunity to present evidence of what he describes as irregularities that affected the integrity of the Kalungu West election. The substantive hearing of the petition has been adjourned to October 3-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
