Mr Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu is an angry man. After an intense electioneering period that saw him lose some of his supporters to police brutality, president-elect Yoweri Museveni stopped at nothing to block Bobi from power.
The revolutionary National Unity Platform (NUP) president said he was still pondering on whether to head to the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome.
Bobi Wine lost the hotly contested poll to Yoweri Museveni, 76, who allegedly triumphed with 5,851,037 votes representing 58.64 percent against Bobi’s 3,475,298 votes representing 34.85 percent.
The NUP party has however confirmed its reservations about heading to the supreme court to challenge Museveni’s win.
Mr Joel Ssenyonyi who speaks for NUP said that the challenge they have met with this option is that the police and sister security agencies are arresting their agents who had gathered some of the evidence.
“We are still gathering evidence; as soon as we are ready, we shall let Ugandans know our next plan of action. But the regime doesn’t want us to have this evidence. They are arresting people with the correct Declaration of Results Forms like anybody who has something to hide will do,” Mr Ssenyonyi said.
According to Uganda’s 2017 Constitutional Amendment of article 104 (2), a presidential candidate aggrieved with the results of an election has up to 15 days from the date of declaration of results to file a petition to the Supreme Court.
The amendment also gives the Supreme Court up to 45 days to determine the petition.
In the last six elections that have been held under President Museveni, three of them have so far been challenged in the court. However, none of them has ever been set aside by the court.
Justices Benjamin Odoki, Alfred Karokora and Joseph Mulenga voted against annulling the elections while John Wilson Tsekooko and Arthur Oder voted in favour of annulling the election. In the 2006 election petition that was heard by seven justices, three voted for and four voted against annulling that election.
Oder and Tsekooko were joined by Justice George Kanyeihamba while Odoki, Mulenga and Karokora were joined by Justice Bart Katureebe. In both occasions, the petition was allowed on most of the grounds but the contention was whether the irregularities were substantial enough to affect the final outcome.
In 2016, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi who was the first runner-up in that year’s election also filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the victory of President Museveni. Then Besigye who came second in that election was under house arrest.
The Supreme Court Coram that was made of nine Justices unanimously dismissed the petition for lack of merit. Just days to filing the petition, unknown people broke into the offices of Fred Muwema who was the lead counsel of the petitioner and ran away with all the affidavits that were supporting the petition.
The nine Justices who dismissed Mbabazi’s petition included; Bart Katureebe, Lilian Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza, Esther Kisakye, Jotham Tumwesigye, Arach Amoko, Augustine Nshimye Ssebuturo, Eldad Mwangusya, Rubby Opio Aweri and Faith Mwondha.
“Having made a due inquiry into the petition, and on the basis of our findings…we hereby declare that the 1st respondent [Museveni] was validly elected as President in accordance with Article 104 of the constitution and section 59 of the Presidential Elections Act. Accordingly, this petition is dismissed with no orders as to cost,” the 2016 judgment reads in part.
That Coram that heard Mbabazi’s petition has since lost Justices; Katureebe, Tumwesigye and Mwangusya who have since retired from the judiciary. In their positions is now Justices; Alphonso Owinyi-Dollo, Paul Mugamba, Mike Chibita, Ezekiel Muhagunzi and Percy Tuhaise.
According to Ugandans through the Daily Monitor, many Ugandans feel it is an uphill task to overturn a presidential election in Uganda.
