The High Court Judge Collins Acellam set March 10, this year to conform the recent parliamentary election results for Mukono South County Member of Parliament.
In the recent general elections, the Electoral Commission-EC declared Fred Kayondo of the Democratic Party-DP winner of Mukono South County, however, Wilson Male of the National Unity Platform-NUP petitioned the High Court challenging the result.
In the petition, Male asked the High Court to nullify the election results on grounds that Kayondo bribed voters, nominated as a candidate for the Democratic Party but his campaign posters were printed with symbols and slogans of the National Unity Platform.
He also noted that on the polling day, the ballot papers had the symbols swapped, indicating Kayondo as the candidate endorsed by the National Unity Platform, an error which not only confused voters but also affected the outcome of the process. Besides lacking the required number of voters to support his nomination.
In July last year, the Court of Appeal in Kampala which comprised of a panel of three Justices including Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, Catherine Bamugemereire and Irene Mulyagonja ordered for fresh hearing of a petition earlier dismissed without hearing its merits by Justice Olive Kazaarwe Mukwaya.
Kayondo and the Electoral Commission had earlier asked Court to dismiss the petition on grounds that the commissioner of Oaths who had commissioned Male’s affidavits did not have a valid practising certificate at that time.
Accordingly, Justice Olive Kazaarwe dismissed the petition without hearing its merits.
As a result, Male appealed against the decision on grounds that the judge erred in law and fact when she held that his petition was incompetent and incurably defective.
Kazaarwe was also faulted for having under looked and condoned Kayondo’s defective pleadings and failure to consider Male’s submissions.
The Court of Appeal Justices agreed that the Judge erred when she dismissed Male’s petition for having defective affidavits yet she allowed the same from Kayondo and the Electoral Commission.
The case underwent another due process of hearing before justice Collins Acellam at Mukono High Court.
His decision will determine whether Fred Kayondo shall be confirmed a duly nominated and elected member of parliament for Mukono South County or there was errors done by the EC necessitating a by-election.
Kayondo polled 26,512 votes in the race which attracted six candidates, while Male, the challenger from the National Unity Platform obtained 4,831 votes to secure the third position in the race.
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