Kampala, Uganda (CU)_ An appeal made by the lawyers of the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine, to file his presidential election petition on Saturday has been rejected by the Supreme Court. Bobi Wine’s lawyers of Wameli and Company Advocates wrote to the Registrar of the Supreme Court to permit them to submit their petition today to beat the 15-day deadline.
The letter read, “We act on behalf of Mr Kyagulanyi Robert Ssentamu on whose instructions we address you as follows; Our client has instructed us to file the above presidential election petition on his behalf. Although the deadline for filing is Monday 1st, February 2021, we wish to file the petition Saturday the 30th day of January 2021 by 2 pm to avoid any eventuality”. It further said, “This is to request you to make provisions for us to be able to file the said petition tomorrow (Saturday) and be attended to”.
Jameson Karemani, the Judiciary Spokesman, confirmed that Bobi Wine’s team had written to the court seeking permission to file the petition today. He said, “It’s true his lawyers wrote to court giving notice that they intended to file tomorrow (Saturday) but we advised them to file on Monday”. The news was confirmed from the notice written by the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo. The Chief Justice said, “The last day of filing the petition falls on January 31, 2021, which is a Sunday. Hence the last day for doing so is Monday 1st Feb, 21”.
As amended in 2017, as per the Article 104 of the Constitution, a presidential candidate can file a petition in the Supreme Court up to 15 days after the declaration of the results. On January 16, 2021, the results of presidential were announced. Justice Simon Byabakama, Chairman of the Electoral Commission, declared the existing President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni as the winner with 5,851,037 votes representing 58.64 percent as against 3,475,298 votes scored by Bibi Wine representing 34.85 percent.
Justice Byabakama published the final count of the results on January 28, 2021, which showed that Mr. Museveni scored an additional 191, 861 votes, making his final count to 6,042,898 votes, representing 58.38 percent, whereas Bobi Wine obtained an additional 156, 139 votes, making his final count to 3,631,437 votes, representing 35.0 percent. However, Bobi Wine had rejected the outcome of the polls, and he was under security for 11 days from the day of the election. For a few days, he told reporters that he had enormous evidence to reverse the election of Museveni, but he would leave it to the public court.
Bobi Wine referred to the previous petitions filed by former presidential candidates, Amama Mbabazi and Dr. Kizza Besigye and said that he had no hopes of his petition winning in court because his rival selected the judges. It was said that the legal team of Bobi Wine plans to produce evidence to prove that the election has been marred by irregularities since his appointment, bribery and detention of his agents and the direct participation of the military in the elections.
