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There is no evidence that Moses Byaruhanga communicated to H.E. the President and what his response was. Government ministries including the office of the President are governed by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act which regulates the procurement of goods and services. The welding and compressor machines are goods and how they were procured by the office of the President had to be explained. At least there should been some paper trail of some sort. The absence of any documentary evidence about the welding machines contrasts with the allegations of electric power connections which were carried 10 out in some areas of Jinja East Constituency as an inducement to bribe voters to vote for the 1st respondent. There is a letter (N2) dated 21st January 2011 written by the Ag, Principal Private Secretary to H.E. the President. It was addressed to the Minister of Energy and Minerals. The letter was copied to area Members of Parliament who included the 1st respondent. The subject was power extension. In the letter, the Ag. Principal Private Secretary to the President informed the Minister that during his tour of Busoga region, the residents requested for power extension. The areas to be covered were: 1. Soweto- Masese 11 2. Kibuga Mbata- Masese 1 20 3. Loca- oldbooma 4. Kirombe-Masese 11. 22

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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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