Hon. Robert Ssentamu Kyangulanyi after handing over NUP membership card to Hon. Sulaiman Kidandala
NEWS EDITOR
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FORGED Academic documents your own ‘Mr. Update’ Muhammad Sseggirinya submitted for nomination to the Electoral Commission have landed into problems a top official of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP). He is now facing arrest over fraud!
NUP Secretary General Davis Lewis Rubongoya has been cited in the duplication, falsefication, impersonation, alterations and forgery of Sseggirinya’s academic documents and both gentlemen are in hot soup!
This comes after former Deputy Lord mayor Sulaiman Serwadda Kidanda petitioned court on allegations that Kawempe North MP-elect Muhammad Ssegirinya submitted forged documents to be nominated by the Electoral Commission on 15th October 2020.
Through his lawyers of Alaka & Co. Advocates, Kidandala has asked court to instead declare him as the duly elected Kawempe North Constituency member of Parliament.
In his Petition to court Kidandala states that, “The non-compliance with the provisions of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended, and failure, affected the result of the election in a substantial manner in that, the nomination and the subsequent election of Ssegirinya Muhammad as a directly elected Member of Parliament for Kawempe North Constituency was invalid.”
“The nomination paper of Ssegirinya Muhammad was void, he was not duly nominated for election as a directly elected Member of Parliament for Kawempe North Constituency and did not complete a minimum formal education of Advanced Level Standard or its equivalent.” Reads the petition.
The petitioner Kidandala prays to court that, “Declare me other than Ssegirinya Muhammad, who won the election for the directly elected Members of Parliament for Kawempe North Constituency.”
The three grounds on which Kidandala based his petition are very strong! All indicators show, Ssegirinya will be thrown out of the 1th Parliament and court won’t hesitate to declare Kidandala the duly elected Kawempe North constituency member of Parliament.
Insiders say, Ssegirinya and NUP bosses will be interrogated for this forgery.
We are told, Bobi Wine has already squeezed Rubongoya’s balls on how such a blunder came up which has caused total shame to this popular opposition party.
For Kidandala, he has a very good case, unless otherwise.
THE UNTOLD STORY
In March 2020, Hon. Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi invited Kidandala for an urgent meeting.
This is when Bobi asked Kidandala to help him formulate People Power Movement since he (Kyagulanyi) was going to run for president in 2021.
Bobi said, “I know you my brother as a strategic thinker, a good planner and a very hardworking young man. You have been the Democratic Party National Organising Secretary for years. We want your super experience to help us build People Power as we transit into a political party.”
Kyagulanyi told a listening Kidandala how he wanted him traverse the whole country, set up structures which will in return help to identify suitable candidates for 2021 polls.
In his response, Kidandala said, “I have no objection my brother, but I wish to tell you that I am going to run for Kawempe North MP in 2021. So most of my time, I give it to my people in Kawempe for early preparations.”
Bobi asked him not to worry, he will give him full support but before that, they should embark on the main goal of building People Power together.
For starters, Kidandala is one of the most brilliant young men in DP who for years organised activities and structures for this oldest political party in Uganda.
In fact, Kidandala was very much influential in building momentum for Nobert Mao to take over DP Presidency in a 2010 Delegates Conference in Mbale.
How did he do that, we shall come back to that in another story!
Fast forward, Kidandala was stationed at the People Power secretariat in Kamwokya and perfectly organised this pressure group as it grew up into a political party.
Setting up leadership structures in NUP and assigning roles, was entirely done by Kidandala.
KIDANDALA BETRAYED
It all begun with rumours in NUP how top leadership were not willing to give Kidandala a party ticket for Kawempe North MP, that secretariat didn’t want to lose his brain.
Later, a clique of NUP youth said to be in touch with party top bosses started spreading Ssegirinya’s gospel.
Kidandala approached Bobi and reminded him about their agreement. He instead assured him how all will be well.
During the vetting process in NUP, it is said, Ssegirinya didn’t forward his academic documents to the NUP committee for verification.
This was deliberate and SG Rubongoya is said to have been behind this game. He personally received and hid Ssegirinya’s documents in his office so that they aren’t accessed by any committee member.
Now don’t ask how Ssegirinya beat Kidandala for a Kawempe North MP ticket. The rest is history!
Unsatisfied Kidandala supporters in NUP asked him to contest as an independent. He finished second in an election won by Muhammad Ssegirinya.
HOW SSEGIRINYA’S DOCUMENTS LEAKED
In February, a few days after Ssegirinya was declared a winner for MP Kawempe North, someone in Rubongoya’s office landed on hidden Ssegirinya Richard’s academic documents. Amidst questions on why they were kept separately, this person thought they would be of importance to Kidandala. That is how they landed into his hands.
DETECTS FRAUD
With his colleagues Vincent Mayanja and William Kamulegeya, Kidandala critically looked at Ssegirinya’s academic documents submitted at NUP. This is when Mayanja said, “Pimbas Secondary School, a private school can not be having index number reading U0053. Such numbers are for historical schools like Lubiri Secondary School, Mengo Senior, Kings College Buddo not Pimbas.”
William Kamulegeya also noted something! “By 2009, UNEB was not awarding certificates having a student’s photo. How come Ssegirinya’s has it? This certificate can’t be authentic.”
Lastly it was Kidandala himself asking how could Ssegirinya score 5BCBB in S.6, results which are not easily got!
KIDANDALA GIVES LAWYERS INSTRUCTIONS
He instructed counsel Lydia Nakyejwe of M/s Alaka & Co. Advocates to write to Electoral Commission to give him documents Ssegirinya Muhammad submitted for nominstion, which EC did.
The file had the exact academic documents which leaked from Rubongoya’s office.
Kidandala then instructed his lawyers to write to Uganda Examination Board to verify the academic documents Ssegirinya Muhammad submitted in Electoral Commission for nomination which were UACE for 2009 in the names of Ssegirinya Richard with Index Number U0053/754 of Pimbas Secondary School and a UCE for examination year 2007 in the names of Ssegirinya Richard under index Number U0053/054 of Pimbas Secondary School
On 17th March 2021, UNEB responded saying;
i) Verification of Academic Documents of Ssegirinya Richard U0053/054 (2007) U0053/754 (2009).
ii) Candidate U0053/054 is Nampiima Sarah who sat at Mengo Secondary School not Ssegirinya Richard sitting at Pimbas Secondary School
iii) Candidate U0053/754 (2009) is Nabadda Maureen who sat at Mengo Secondary School not Ssegirinya Richard sitting at Pimbas Secondary School.
UNEB concluded that, the certificate serial numbers U1884798 and A0964827 whose copies Ssegirinya submitted to Electoral commission are NOT authentic documents issued by the Board.
KIDANDALA GOES TO COURT: HERE IS THE FULL PETITION
Your humble petitioner Serwadda Sulaiman Kidandala is a person who was a candidate at the above mentioned Parliamentary Elections for Directly elected Member of Parliament for Kawempe North Constituency.
I stood as an Indipendent together with Ssegirinya Muhammad on ticket of National Unity Platform (NUP), Kasenge Tom John Fisher (NRM), Sebaggala Abdulatif Sengendo (Independent), Mathias Mulumba (DP), Rodgers Sendawula (ANT), Muhamood Mutazindwa (FDC), Robinah Nanyunja on ticket of Ecological Party of Uganda (EPU) and Burrows John Lumu (Independent).
The Returning officer of the Electoral Commission returned Ssegirinya Muhammad as validly elected having polled 41,197 (Forty One thousand, One hundred and ninety Seven) votes as opposed to Kidandala who came second and polled 7,512 (Seven thousand five hundred and twelve) votes.
The Electoral commission (the second respondent) gazetted these results on the 17th day of February 2021.
I state that;
I. Ssegirinya was not duly nominated for Directly Elected Member of Parliament for Kawempe North Constituency and his nomination papers were or void in that:
a) Ssegirinya’s nomination was not accompanied by the names and signatures of a minimum of ten persons who are registered voters in Kawempe North Constituency supporting his nomination.
b) Ssegirinya was not qualified for elections under under Section 4 of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended;
i) He did not complete a minimum formal education of Advanced Level Standard or its equivalent
● He did not complete and attain a Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).
● He did not complete and attain a Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE).
ii) Ssegirinya Muhammad was not a registered voter;
● He registered his Deed Poll to change his name one year after the closure of the update of the Voters Register by Electoral Comission (The Second Respondent).
Deed Poll; Change of Name dated 27th September 2015 bearing a stamp of URSB dated 13th July 2020. And it was gazetted on 13th July 2020. It was published in the Monitor Newspaper of 14th July 2020. Yet voter update exercise ended around December 2019.
● Ssegirinya Muhammad not a registered voter in Kawempe Constituency, Kampala Capital City, or at all, at the time of elections of January 14th 2021 for Kawempe North Constituency Member of Parliament.
c) Ssegirinya did not comply with the provisions of Section 4 of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended;
● Contrary to Section 76 (a) of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended, Ssegirinya Muhammad personally or with his knowledge and consent or approval forged Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) and Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) documents relating to the holding of the election.
● Contrary to Section 76 (a) of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended,
Ssegirinya Muhammad personally or with his knowledge delivered to the Returning officer of the Electoral Commission a Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) under Index Number U0053/754 of Pimbas Secondary School P.o.Box 1901 Kampala in the names of Ssegirinya Richard knowing it to be forged.
● Contrary to Section 76 (a), of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended, Ssegirinya Muhammad personally or with his knowledge delivered to Electoral Commission Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) under index Number U0053/054 of Pimbas Secondary School P.o.Box 1901 Kampala in the names of Ssegirinya Richard knowing it to be forged.
● Contrary to Section 79 of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended, Ssegirinya Muhammad not being a registered voter committed the Electoral offence when he voted in the election of 14th January 2021.
d) Ssegirinya’s nomination paper was not signed and countersigned in accordance with subsection (1) of Section 11 of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended:
● Contrary to Section 11 (1) (c) of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended, Electoral Commission’s Returning officer nominated Ssegirinya Muhammad on 15th October 2020 without the names and signatures of a minimum of ten persons who are registered voters in the Kawempe North Constituency supporting the nomination of Ssegirinya Muhammad.
● Contrary to Section 13 (a) of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended, Electoral Commission failed to regard the nomination papers of Ssegirinya Muhammad invalid or void when they were not signed and countersigned in accordance with subsection (1) of section 11 of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended.
● Contrary to Section 13 (c) of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended, Electoral Commission nominated Ssegirinya when he was not qualified for Elections under section 4 of the Parliamentary Election Act as amended.
e) AND THAT, the non-compliance with the provisions of the Act, and the failure affected the result of the election in a substantial manner in that; The nomination and subsequent election of Ssegirinya Muhammad as Kawempe North MP was invalid.
PIMBAS SCHOOL BOSSES SPEAK OUT
Pimbas Secondary School headmaster Daraus Wamala has clearly said their school index number is U1549 not U0053 on Ssegirinya’s academic documents.
He further stated that their school’s P.O.Box number iso 1173.
“Yes Ssegirinya was our student but he didn’t sit final exams from our school.” Said Pimbas Secondary School Headmaster.
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