Previous 29 / 33 Next

In reaching the above conclusion the learned judge was relying on two decisions which I have already cited. The said decisions were inapplicable because one was dealing with a petition under the Presidential Elections Act which did not have a statutory standard of proof and the other was determined before the enactment of the PEA. The two decisions were inapplicable to the instant appeal. The learned trial judge was influenced by the two decisions she cited when she was evaluating the evidence of bribery against the 1st respondent. In particular she stated that the allegations of bribery against him were not ‘conclusively’ proved. This was another way of saying that the allegations were 10 not proved beyond reasonable. The learned trial judge erred in so holding. The last issue to deal with is about a cost which was the ground for the crossappeal. The law is settled that costs in civil litigation follow the event and a successful party is entitled to costs except for good reason connected with the case. The decision to award or not to award costs is within the discretion of the court which tried the case. Normally an appellate court will not interfere with the exercise of discretion unless it is shown that wrong principles were followed by taking into account an 20 irrelevant factor or failing to take into account a relevant factor. In the case of Software Distributors (Africa) Ltd &another v Kambaho Perez –CA No.07/06 this court said: 29

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

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
Download View

Election Judgments - IFES

Select target paragraph3

Mwiru v. Samson

Primary Documents

Notifications