Kyagulanyi lawyers finally serve Museveni 2021 election petition

Lawyers representing the National Unity Platform president, Robert Kyagulanyi have finally served Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni, the President-elect with the petition challenging the outcome of the just-concluded election.

Earlier, the lawyers had failed to serve Museveni in person or through his representatives with the petition challenging his victory.

However, on Wednesday, the lawyers led by Anthony Wameli met with a team led by the NRM Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba who escorted lawyer Essau Isingoma from K & K Advocates, the law firm representing Museveni, and handed over a copy of the petition.

"Finally, we have got a sigh of relief after traversing almost the entire Kampala looking for the first respondent(Museveni). He has instructed KK Advocates and they have notified court and we have served them before the Registrar of the court,"NUP lawyer Anthony Wameli said.

The lawyer noted that since the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General have also been served, they now wait for court to give the date for the case pre-hearing meeting.

“They have three days to respond to the evidence but we shall add more affidavits and pieces of evidence. The good thing we now have address of the service and don’t need to look for the president.”

According to Kasule Lumumba, the NRM lawyers will now peruse through the evidence and response accordingly.

“We shall go back to look at the grounds in the petition and respond accordingly but I want to assure NRM members that everything was done within the law. We have our declaration of results forms ready. When we call them to give evidence, they should not hesitate,”Lumumba noted.

Kyagulanyi on Monday filed a petition challenging the outcome of the January,14 polls in which the incumbent, Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner with  6,042898 votes representing 58.38% and Kyagulanyi as the runners up with  3631437 votes.

In his petition, the NUP presidential candidate in the concluded election says the campaigns and the subsequent elections were not free and fair, rendering the outcome nugatory.

“The election was invalid on grounds that it was not conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the provision of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, the Presidential Elections Act and the Electoral Commission Act,”Kyagulanyi says.

The presidential candidate in just concluded election says that his campaigns were always disrupted by police and on many occasions, they never happened, despite clearance from the relevant authorities.

“Contrary to section 3 and 2 of the Presidential Elections Act, officers of the Uganda Police Force and the UPDF on several occasions and in several parts of the country prevented the petitioner from carrying out his nationwide consultations in preparation for his nomination as a presidential candidate.”

He also accuses the Electoral Commission of failure to deal with multiple voting and ballot stuffing in various parts of the country during the elections whereas the body also failed to ascertain, transmit, tabulate and declare the actual results of the presidential elections with transparency.

Kyagulanyi now wants court to overturn the election and declare fresh polls.

“The petitioner prays that the first respondent (Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa  Museveni ) was not validly elected as the President of the Republic of Uganda. The election should be annulled and set aside and a fresh election be conducted in accordance with the law,” Kyagulanyi says in the petition where Museveni, Electoral Commission and the Attorney General are listed as respondents.

The ruling NRM party earlier this week said they have lined up over 40 lawyers to defend the national party chairman's victory in the petition filed by the National Unity Platform.