Nine judges to hear Mbabazi’s petition

President-elect Yoweri museveni receives a petition from Mr Amama Mbabazi’s lawyers Michael Akampurir and Severino Twinobusingye at State House Entebbe yesterday. Photo by PPU 

In Summary

The Petition. On Tuesday this week, Mr Mbabazi filed a petition with the Supreme Court, seeking the nullification of Mr Museveni’s re-election

A panel of nine judges of the Supreme Court will hear Amama Mbabazi’s presidential election petition challenging the re-election of President Museveni. The hearing will begin on Monday.

In a statement issued by the court registrar, Mr Tom Chemutai, on March 2, all concerned parties to the petition will attend the pre-hearing conference on Monday, which is the first stage of the hearing of the petition referred to as Presidential Election Petition No. 1 of 2016.

“The honourable justices of the Supreme Court have set Monday 7 of March, 2016, as the pre-hearing date for the petition referred to above,” reads part of the statement by the court registrar Mr Tom Chemutai on March 2.

Mr Mbabazi’s lawyers yesterday served Mr Museveni with a copy of the election petition. Lawyers Severino Twinobusingye and Michael Akampurira met the President at State House Entebbe at 6.30pm where he received and signed a copy of the petition. A statement issued by State House said Mr Museveni was with his lawyers but were not named.

The Go Forward Deputy communications director Josephine Mayanja said Mr Museveni acknowledged receipt of the petition in writing. “It was a cordial meeting and he was served personally,” she said.
The panel to hear the petition will be led by Chief Justice Bart Katureebe. It includes justices Jotham Tumwesigye, Esther Kisaakye, Stella Arach-Amoko, Augustine Nshimye, Faith Mwondha, Rubby Aweri Opio, Eldad Mwangusya and Prof Lillian Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza. This means that all the Justices of the Supreme Court will hear the high profile petition.

In two previous presidential election petitions by FDC candidate Dr Kizza Besigye against Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in 2001 and 2006, the panels comprised five and seven justices respectively, which was the full composition of the Supreme Court at the time. Among the nine justices named on the current panel, it’s only Chief Justice Katureebe who was part of the 2006 panel, meaning that the rest will be hearing a presidential election petition for the first time.

Former presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi filed the petition on Tuesday challenging Mr Museveni’s election on February 18. Mr Mbabazi is seeking nullification of Mr Museveni’s election on 28 grounds which include non-compliance with the law, vote stealing and intimidation of voters and agents by security forces.

The EC declared President Museveni the winner of the February 18 elections with 60.7 per cent of the total vote, followed by FDC’s Kizza Besigye with 35 percent and Mr Mbabazi came third with 1.4 percent.

The Supreme Court has only 30 days to hear the petition and deliver its judgment.

Then court registrar Mr Chemutai said all the parties to the petition had been invited for the pre-hearing conference on Monday.
“This is to invite you to the pre-hearing conference scheduled to take place at 10 am at the Supreme Court Hall,” reads Mr Chemutai’s statement of March 2.

The parties are: Directorate of Legal Services, National Resistance Movement Secretariat, the Electoral Commission, Attorney General, Mbabazi’s lawyers Akampurira and Partners Advocates, Muwema & Co Advocates & Solicitors and Twinobusingye Severino & Co Advocates.
The pre-hearing conference is to allow all the parties agree on the contentious issues which need to be resolved by court during the hearing of the petition. The substantive hearing of the petition starts thereafter.

In the petition Mbabazi alleges bribery of voters. Breaking down the bribery allegations, the former prime minister claims President Museveni with his consent and through his campaign agents, bribed voters of West Nile region with hoes to vote him in turn.

He also cites Museveni’s payment of Shs250,000 to each voter in the villages across the country on two occasions with the intent to influence them from voting any other presidential candidate.
Mr Mbabazi now wants court to declare that President Museveni was not validly elected as President and his election be annulled and fresh elections be ordered.

What it is
The pre-hearing conference sets out the contentious issues that the concerned parties want court to resolve in the petition. Pre-hearing conferences are held before the actual hearing and are held with the consent of all the parties.