Jinja High Court has this Tuesday morning nullified the election of Kamuli Municipality Member of Parliament Hajjati Rehema Watongola on grounds lack of requisite academic qualifications.
The presiding judge, Godfrey Namundi, advised Hajjati Watongola to appeal if aggrieved by his ruling.
The judge ordered the Electoral Commission to organize fresh elections for Member of Parliament for Kamuli Municipality in Kamuli district.
Namundi further instructed the first defendant to pay court damages to the appellant.
FDC’s vice president for Eastern region Proscovia Salaamu Musumba petitioned the High Court challenging the election of Hajjati Watongola in the February 18th parliamentary elections arguing that she lacked and or forged the academic requirements for one to contest as a Member of Parliament.
Musumba through her lawyers M/S Isabirye and company advocates also challenged the Electoral Commission, Busoga University and the National Council for Higher Education for conspiring with Watongola to commit an electoral offence of uttering and using false documents to contest.
She had asked court to nullify the election of the first respondent and declare her the winner, having been the first runners-up or order for fresh elections and also prosecute the first respondent for committing an electoral offence.
Ms Watongola presented a Uganda Certificate of Education, Certificate, Diploma and Degree in Public Administration and Management from Busoga University in order to be nominated for Member of Parliament.
According to the petition, all the attached academic qualifications were dully certified by the third respondent (Busoga University) before nomination of first respondent as candidate for Member of Parliament for Kamuli Municipality
The petitioner stated that Busoga University had in its 30th Senate University meeting convened on 17th December 2010 revoked all awards given to Watongola on the grounds that the certificate upon which was admitted to Busoga University to advance in her studies was investigated and found to be false and or a forgery.
“Accordingly Busoga University in the communication dated 20th December 2010 under Ref BU/DVC/01/12/10 recalled and ordered Watongola to return the said academic awards,” the petition reads in part.
The petition adds that Watongola had earlier in 2010 sought a certificate of equivalence from the National Council for Higher Education in respect to the Diploma in Public administration and Management of July 2008, certificate in public administration and management, Busoga University attained in July 2005 and UCE UNEB attained in 2002 to be equated to advanced level standard which certificate was issued to her by National council for higher education on 22 April 2010 and later certified on 24th July 2015.
Musumba argued that by the time the National Council for Higher Education purported to equate the said awards to A-level, they knew or ought to have known that the said awards could not have been equivalent to A-Level standard because the awards had been given to Watongola by Busoga University which was not by then accredited to award such qualifications but they went ahead to certify them for the first respondent to contest for Member of Parliament.
Defence
In her submission, the third respondent (Busoga University) denied awarding and or certifying any certificate award to Watongola and also averred that the subsequent diploma and degree in Public Administration and Management awarded to her were in 2010 revoked, recalled and canceled on grounds of forgery.
It was upon that ground that the judge ruled in favor of the appellant.
However, Watongola has already instructed her lawyers on preparing and filing an appeal, saying all her papers were duly certified by the academic bodies and are legitimate.
Kamuli Municipality parliamentary race attracted four candidates with NRM’s Watongola emerging as the winner with 8,175 votes followed by Proscovia Salaamu Musumba (FDC) 6,702, David Kammali Sibira (Independent) 1,704 and Prossy Naikoba Kanakutanda (Independent) 495.