NUP put trust in court to overturn Kayunga by-election results

The National Unity Platform (NUP) leadership has announced their way forward after what they have termed as a “broad daylight thuggery” in the Kayunga LC5 chairperson by-election.

The NUP spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi said that they won the by-election despite the results that were announced by the Electoral Commission (EC).

Ssenyonyi said that they will now take the matter to court, in order to put the judiciary to test.

Ssenyonyi made these remarks while addressing journalists at the NUP party head offices in Kamwokya, Monday.

“Our candidate decided to go to court with all the DR Forms for the court to count, maybe they have a better calculator. The same way we have put the regime to test and exposed them, we want to put the courts to test,” Ssenyonyi said.

In a close-to-call election, the Kayunga Returning Officer, Jennifer Kyobutungi, announced that having got 31,830 votes against Nakweede’s 31,380, NRM’s Andrew Muwonge had beaten her closest rival with just 450 votes.

Ssenyonyi, in his remarks, said that this was “foolish” because even some NRM members know that they did not win the by-election.

“Even some NRM members are saying they didn't win in Kayunga. This is no longer a NUP matter. It is an issue in our country. What are you telling Ugandans? That voting doesn't matter anymore?” Ssenyonyi asked.

The NUP mouthpiece said that they have tried everything to get the EC tally sheet as the norm should be, but EC officials have refused to grant them access.

“Byabakama and his thugs have refused to give us tally sheets because they know what they did was foolish. We are not going to request. We are demanding for them,” he added.

In her remarks, the NUP candidate Nakweede thanked the people of Kayunga for massively voting for her, and said that she is available to serve her people from anywhere, even if she is not granted the office.

“Wherever I will seat is where I will serve you from,” Nakweede said.

Nakweede said that she believes that the President Museveni of 1986 went to the bush of a rigged election, and she wants that Museveni of then to tell the Museveni of today that the by-election of Kayunga was rigged.

“There were a lot of brutalities that ran throughout the electoral process. I want to send my sincere condolence to the people of Kayunga. Many are nursing wounds and psychological torture inflicted on us by this junta,” she added.