The hearing of three election petitions scheduled at the Soroti High Court was postponed on Monday after the presiding judge, Lady Justice Mary Kisakye Kaitesi, was involved in a road accident while travelling to Soroti City.
Justice Kaitesi was involved in the crash at about 8:30pm on Sunday at Kiryoro along the Pallisa-Tirinyi Road in Kibuku District. She was travelling to Soroti, where she was expected to preside over the election petition hearings.
The accident involved the judge’s Toyota Prado, registration number UG 2500149, and a Mitsubishi Fuso truck bearing registration numbers UBA 966I and UBA 329Q.
Justice Kaitesi was travelling with her bodyguard, Corporal Pamela Makirwoth, while the truck driver was also involved in the accident. Information presented to court indicated that the judge sustained a dislocation in the crash.
By Monday morning, lawyers, petitioners and respondents had gathered at Soroti High Court ready for the proceedings before they were informed that the hearings could not go ahead.
Deputy Registrar Emmy Sayekwo told the parties that the Judiciary would communicate a new hearing date after determining whether Justice Kaitesi would recover in time or another judicial officer would be assigned to handle the cases.
“We are unable to continue with the election petition hearing, and the accident has affected it. We will reach out to you when we are set to begin and when the next date is determined,” Sayekwo told the court.
She added that the parties would be notified through their WhatsApp groups once a new date had been fixed.
Three petitions were scheduled for hearing.
The first was filed by Harriet Anyimo, a former candidate for Dakabela County, challenging the election of Peter Edopu Edeku, while the second was filed by Phillip Oucor against the election of Peter Ojiit in Pingire County, Serere District.
The third petition was filed by John Esudu challenging Abraham Okwalinga’s election as LCIII chairperson of Kyere Sub-county in Serere District.
Counsel for Anyimo, Innocent Okong, said the parties had travelled to court prepared to begin the proceedings but would now wait for further guidance from the Judiciary.
“There’s no exact date for the next hearing because we do not know when the judge will be well or when the Judiciary will allocate another judge, but we will wait for the notice in the WhatsApp groups,” Okong said.
Anyimo, who contested the Dakabela County parliamentary election as an independent candidate, said she remained confident that the court process would deliver justice.
“I believe the courts will prevail in terms of justice. With my God that I serve, everything will work out,” she said.
She maintained that she was the best candidate to lead Dakabela and expressed her desire to serve the constituents.
In the January general elections, Anyimo polled 8,180 votes and finished second behind Edopu, who was declared the winner with 9,588 votes. Cosmas Elotu came third with 4,393 votes.
In Pingire County, Ojiit was declared the winner after securing 8,031 votes. Oucor garnered 5,475 votes, while Fred Opolot obtained 1,729 votes.
The three petitions have not yet been assigned fresh hearing dates. The parties are now awaiting communication from the Judiciary on whether another judge will take over the cases or whether the hearings will resume once Justice Kaitesi recovers.
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