Experts: Bobi Wine's withdrawal from court may negatively affect future proceedings

Some legal experts have said that the election petition withdrawal by National Unity Platform president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine paints a negative picture about court.

Kyagulanyi formally applied to the Supreme court to withdraw his election petition, saying he believes the court has not put in place grounds favourable for his petition to succeed.

The singer-cum-politician said that he will now take his case to the court of public opinion.

Speaking to NBS TV, Dan Wandera, a lawyer, said that this has negative implications on future high profile cases.

"If high profile cases go to the court of public opinion, then people are making up their mind about society. It is not a simple thing that we should glass, it affects how we move forward as a country," Wandera said.

Wandera said that the court of public opinion was witnessed in Uganda after the 1980 elections that saw President Museveni and his group of patriots go to the bush to challenge the then elected government.

"President Museveni in 1980 stood with Sam Kutesa now the minister of Foreign Affairs, for a constituency. Electoral Commission returned the results and said that Kutesa had defeated Museveni, President Museveni actually filed a petition but within one month, he picked a gun and went to the bush. That can only tell you that he had no confidence in the judicial system," Wandera said.

Wandera said that Kyagulanyi should not expect a safe landing in the court of public opinion as people may actually decide that he is wrong.

 

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