By KT Reporter
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Elections Tribunal has dismissed a petition filed by Brigadier General (Rtd) Dr. Charles Kisembo challenging the party’s primary election results for Member of Parliament in Kibale County, Kamwenge District.
The Tribunal, headed by Lawyer John Musiime, on Thursday upheld the victory of incumbent MP Mirembe Abigaba Curthbert, whose win was being challenged by Kisembo.
In its ruling, the Tribunal found that Kisembo failed to prove any of his allegations to the standard required by law. Kisembo had accused his opponent of rigging the vote through intimidation, violence, and the swapping of genuine declaration of results forms with forged ones. He also claimed that if the true results were considered, he would have emerged the winner with 22,671 votes against Mirembe’s 21,440.
The Tribunal, however, noted that Kisembo’s petition lacked credible and verifiable evidence.
The ruling indicates that the allegations of inflated voter numbers at polling stations such as Iremera and Nyamaahegwa 1 were not supported by any authentic voter registers or original tally sheets. The Tribunal emphasised that broad assertions without supporting documentation could not establish non-compliance with the NRM electoral guidelines.
The most serious claim that results forms were forged to favour Mirembe has also collapsed since the Tribunal says it had examined the documents and had not found any forgeries on them.
Instead, the Tribunal has found that Forms submitted by Kisembo from 39 polling stations were found to be inauthentic, lacking the official security features embedded in valid declaration forms.
However, the forms submitted by Mirembe were deemed verifiable and consistent with electoral standards. The Tribunal has accordingly ruled that it could not rely on forged evidence to overturn a valid election.
Kisembo also alleged that his agents were harassed and that violence disrupted the vote in Kabambiro sub-county. However, the Tribunal found no corroboration of these claims.
It has been ruled that there were no police reports, observer accounts, or complaints lodged with election officials and that there was no specific voters shown to have been prevented from casting their ballots as a result of intimidation.
The Tribunal has also found no direct link between the alleged violence and the actions of Mirembe or his campaign agents.
Even if some irregularities had occurred, the Tribunal has held that they would not have affected the outcome of the election in a substantial manner.
As such, the Tribunal noted that Kisembo had failed to discharge the burden of proof, and there was no basis for granting any of the remedies he sought, including a declaration that he was the rightful winner. The petition has thus been dismissed, and Mirembe’s nomination as NRM flag bearer for Kibale County upheld.
The ruling was signed by Tribunal members Maxwell Okengedenish, Patrick Nasinyama, and Esau Isingoma, the panel head.
Speaking to Uganda Radio Network after receiving the ruling, Mirembe said that his case was special because he competed with a UPDF General who reportedly manufactured Declaration forms.
He said that it was quite embarrassing for a UPDF General and former Commandant of the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi to engage himself in such behaviours he described as unexpected. He noted that once someone has served the government and retired, there is a conduct he or she is expected of them.
Mirembe has also appreciated the Tribunal for being impartial and for rejecting external influence and upholding the will of the people of Kibale County.
Last night, the Tribunal, through the Head of NRM Legal Services Enoch Barata, released the tenth batch of rulings where decisions from constituencies and districts were delivered.
Some of the constituencies whose disputes were determined come from districts such as Bukwo, Soroti, Kampala, Mukono, Kikuube, Kabale, Kumi, Zombo, Namayingo, Hoima, Ntungamo and Wakiso.
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