President-elect Yoweri Museveni has petitioned the Supreme Court to throw out a challenge to his re-election, insisting that the January 15 presidential polls were conducted strictly by the book.
Mr Museveni’s victory is being contested by Mr Robert Kasibante of National Peasants’ Party, a former presidential candidate, who seeks to have the win overturned, citing alleged widespread irregularities, violence, and misuse of state resources, among other grievances.
At the heart of his defence, filed yesterday through his lawyers despite the public holiday, Mr Museveni maintains that he was duly elected in line with the country’s laws. He argues that even if there had been any minor breaches, which he flatly denies, they were not significant enough to upset the apple cart or warrant annulment by the court.
‘I was validly elected in accordance with the principles laid down in the provisions of the Constitution, the Electoral Commission Act, and the Presidential Elections Act,’ Mr Museveni asserts before the apex court.
Contention
In his January 17 petition, Mr Kasibante contends that the entire electoral process, from voter registration to tallying and declaration of results, was riddled with illegalities and blatant violations of the Constitution, the Electoral Commission Act, and the Presidential Elections Act.
‘The petitioner (Mr Kasibante), dissatisfied and aggrieved by the conduct of the elections held on January 15, challenges the validity of the election. The election was neither free nor fair and was characterised by non-compliance with electoral laws,’ Mr Kasibante states in his petition. The respondents are President-elect Museveni, the Electoral Commission, and the Attorney General. Mr Museveni is represented by KandK Advocates and KandK Chambers.
Allegations of violence
Mr Kasibante accuses Mr Museveni and state security agencies of orchestrating widespread violence, intimidation, and harassment of Opposition candidates and supporters. But Mr Museveni, in his defence filed yesterday on NRM Liberation Day, denies the accusations.
‘The 1st Respondent (Museveni) denies acting through the armed forces to inflict violence upon the candidates as alleged or at all, and avers that there was no violence inflicted on the candidates by the armed forces with his knowledge and consent or approval,’ he insists.
Mr Kasibante alleges that the UPDF and police disrupted Opposition rallies, assaulted candidates, and issued unlawful directives forcing voters to leave polling stations immediately after casting their ballots. He cites incidents such as the Gulu episode, where security personnel reportedly beat NUP supporters, leaving them bleeding profusely.
Misuse of state resources
Mr Kasibante further claims Mr Museveni used government resources during his campaign, including vehicles, security forces, public institutions, and state media, to tilt the playing field. ‘Notably, the New Vision newspaper consistently featured the first Respondent on the front page, displaying full-page coverage with images of the campaign activities throughout the entire election period,’ the petitioner said. Mr Museveni, however, rubbishes the claims.
‘The 1st Respondent (Mr Museveni) shall state that government facilities used during the campaign were restricted to only those ordinarily attached to and utilised by the President in accordance with the Presidential Elections Act, Cap 179. The 1st Respondent further avers that no such illegal use of government resources, which is denied, took place with his knowledge and consent or approval,’ he avers. Mr Kasibante also alleges that police and UPDF vehicles were used to ferry Museveni’s supporters to rallies across the country.
Voter bribery allegations
Mr Kasibante accuses Museveni’s agents, including musician Moses Ssali, alias Bebe Cool, under the ‘Unstoppable Campaign Team,’ of bribing voters in Kampala, Jinja, Mbale, and Soroti with more than Shs100m. He also claims Museveni knew of the alleged irregular giving of Shs3 billion to a group of mechanics in Kampala.
Mr Museveni denies these allegations, saying: ‘The 1st Respondent (Mr Museveni) shall aver that neither Moses Ssali Alias Bebe Cool nor the Unstoppable Campaign Team bribed or induced voters, as alleged or at all, with his knowledge and consent or approval.’ He adds: ‘In specific answer to paragraph 4(a) (29) of the petition, the 1st Respondent denies knowledge of the 2nd Respondent extending Shs3b to some mechanics group in Kampala, and states that no such acts, which are denied, took place with his knowledge and consent, or approval.’
Failure of biometric machines Mr Kasibante also challenges the use of Biometric Voter Verification Kits (BVVKs), claiming they failed miserably during the polls, were unreliable, and lacked a proper legal framework. Sources suggest the failures were likely due to the Internet shutdown, causing voting delays of up to four hours at thousands of polling stations. The EC extended voting by an hour and reverted to manual rolls. Mr Museveni counters that the hiccups did not disadvantage voters, as the voters’ roll was used.
‘I know that the election was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the provisions of the law. he persons appearing on the National Voters’ Register/Voters’ Roll and could be identified, were allowed to vote, and it is not true that there was any disenfranchisement that operated to my advantage as alleged or at all,’ he said.
Mr Museveni also defends the counting, tallying, and transmission of results, insisting the process was done transparently, in full view of candidates and their agents. With Mr Museveni’s response filed, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Flavian Zeija is expected to lay down the law and issue guidelines to ensure the petition is disposed of within 30 days, as required.