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National Examination Board from the 3rd respondent. It was signed by one Yeko Achato for the Executive Director. The letter in part read: “Re: Igeme Samson Nabeta –Reg. No.U0059009 The above named person has presented to this council the document mentioned below: 1. Uganda Certificate of Education, Busoga College Mwiri(1989) The purpose of this letter is to request you to confirm to this Council 10 whether the said qualification was awarded to him by UNEB.” On the same day UNEB sent its reply. It confirmed that the 1st respondent was a candidate at Busoga College Mwiri and he sat for his ‘O’ Level Examination at the School in 1989. The letter set out the grades he obtained in each subject and the final grade. To me this summarizes what actually happened between UNEB and the 3rd respondent over the 1st respondent’s academic qualifications. The learned trial judge in dealing with the question of consultation between 20 UNEB and the 3rd respondent said: 14

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Mwiru v. Samson

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the respondent’s education failed to meet the requirements for candidacy. If so, whether the respondent’s election as a Member of Parliament should be annulled.

Alleged Acts: After the February 18, 2011 election results were announced, the appellant challenged the outcome on the grounds that the respondent was not a qualified candidate at the time of his election as a Member of Parliament. In particular, the appellant argues that the respondents education did not meet the standards to run for office. The appellant makes a secondary argument that the respondent and his agents committed numerous election offenses, but does not name them specifically.

Procedural history: The appellant sought that the election results be annulled and the runner-up declared the Member of Parliament or a fresh election ordered. The respondent denies all charges and asks for dismissal of the action. The lower court dismissed the petition and required that each party pay its own costs.

Summary: The appellant argues that because the academic qualifications were completed outside of Uganda, they did not necessarily meet the equivalent of requirements. He appellant further contends that the respondent did not consult with the National Council for Higher Education to determined that degrees were actually equivalents. The respondent stated that he did not do so because he had in prior elections. The statutory framework requires consultation, however, the court determined that prior or general consultation is not sufficient to equate the education component. The appellant presented evidence or bribery, but the lower court dismissed the claim after the respondent simply denied the claim. The evidence included promising and agents delivering welding machines for voters to registered voters. The absence of any documentation or any contradictory evidence was insufficient for the trial judge to combat this claim.

Conclusion: court determined that lower court placed a high burden of proof on the appellant, that the respondent lacked the equivalent academic qualifications, and committed bribery. The election results annulled and order fresh elections.

Legal Issue(s)

Disputing Results
Electoral Integrity

Applicable Law(s): Parliamentary Elections Act sec. 4, 60, 61(a),(c), & (d), 62, & 63.

Region: Africa

Country: Uganda

Language of Decision

English

Court: Appellate Court

Election Type: Parliamentary

Date of decision: Jun 28, 2011

Geolocation

Latitude: 0.305568717

Longitude: 32.48922821

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

court-appeal-2011-9.pdf
English
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Election Judgments - IFES

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Mwiru v. Samson

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