PHOTO: NUP boss Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi after handing a party ticket to Dr. Ndiwalana at Kamwokya party headquarters last year
NEWS EDITOR
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BUKOMANSIMBI NRM members, shouldn’t celebrate yet. It’s not yet over! Bukomansimbi North Member of parliament Hon. Christine Nandagire Ndiwalana has officially rejected High Court ruling delivered on 28th September 2021 nullifying her election, saying the judgement and decree of trial, handed by the judge Her Lordship, Hon. Justice Ketrah Kitariisibwa Katunguka had a lot of errors in black and white!
The News Editor Website can authoritatively report that, lawyers of Lukwago & Co. Advocates representing Hon. Christine Nandagire Ndiwalana, last week notified court on the instructions given to them by their client to appeal to the court of Appeal of Uganda against the judgement and decree of Justice Katunguka delivered on the 28th day of September, 2021 at the High Court of Masaka.
“Our client being dissatisfied with the judgement and decree of Her Lady Justice Ketrah Katunguka delivered, intends to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the said judgement and decree”, reads a notice dated 28th September, 2021 and received on 01st October 2021 by the Registrar High Court of Uganda at Masaka.
MP Ndiwalana’s lawyers asked to be availed with the typed and certified copies of the judgement and proceedings to enable their client pursue her intended Appeal.
In the notice of Appeal dated 30th September 2021, MP Ndiwalana’s lawyers notified the petitioner in election petition No. 05 of 2021 that their client is intending to appeal against the given judgement by Lady Justice Katunguka.
In her judgement, Justice Katunguka ordered that, “The declaration and gazetting of the 2nd Respondent (Christine Nandagire Ndiwalana) as the winner of the election held on l4th January 2021, is hereby set aside. Let there be fresh nominations and elections for the people of Bukomansimbi North Constituency to choose their representative in Parliament.”
This came after Ruth Katushabe, NRM candidate for Bukomansimbi North MP 2021 elections petitioned High Court Masaka to declare her the winner since Nandagire who got the highest number of votes wasn’t fully nominated.
For starters, the winner Christine Ndiwalana polled 9617 votes, NRM’s Ruth Katushabe (The petitioner) finished second with 6599 votes, Kateregga Muhamed (JEEMA) was given 3076 votes, Kawoya Yasin was given 251 votes, Lubyayi Eid Kisiki was given 4238 votes, Namakula Rachel was given 182 votes and Sebugwawo Yusuf was given 47 votes. The results were accordingly notified in the Gazette.
Now this judgement has been also set aside since Hon. Ndiwalana has run to court of appeal seeking redress.
“The grounds of appeal shall be specifically stated in the Memorandum of Appeal”, writes Lukwago & Co. Advocates.
Copies of Appeal were served to the Registrar of the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Uganda, M/S Nsubuga & Co. Advocates ( Ruth Katushabe’s lawyers) and to the Electoral Commission (1st Respondents in Election Petition No. 05 of 2021).
Hon. Ndiwalana who is one of Hon. Muhammad Ssegirinya’s surety, won Bukomansimbi North MP seat with a difference of about 3000 votes defeating then incumbent Ruth Katushabe.
Katushabe, a wife to Estates’ dealer Haji HB Matovu petitioned court to be declared the rightful winner on grounds that Hon. Ndiwalana did not posses required academic qualifications, not fully nominated, bribery, among others.
Court annulled Ndiwalana’s election but it did not declare Katushabe the winner.
Judge said, “Counsel for the petitioner submits that since the 2nd Respondent (Nandagire Christine Ndiwalana) was not a candidate at the election, and the 2nd Respondent being off the scene, the
Petitioner is the candidate who obtained the highest valid votes cast for a candidate at the election with 6,599 votes, while Lubyayi lddi Kisiki obtained 4,238 votes. That court declares the petitioner (Ruth Katushabe) the winner and the gazetting of the 2nd Respondent be set aside.”
Counsel for the petitioner cited the case of Wakayima N. Musoke & EC vs. Kasule Robert Ssebunya EPA No. 50 and 102 of 2016, in which it was held by the Court of Appeal, that according to 5.63(4) of the PEA, the High Court has power to declare that a candidate other than the person declared elected was validly elected; He therefore prayed that the petitioner be gazetted as the winner of the election held on the 14/01/2021 for MP Bukomansimbi North County Constituency which Justice Katunguka rejected.
She said, Courts have enunciated the gist of election petitions as not person to holder because whoever stands represents a section of the populace. A weakness in qualifications for an individual and not in popularity reflected by votes cannot in itself guide court to move under section 63(4Xb) of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
“The citizenry must be represented and given an opportunity to choose a leader of their choice through free and fair elections. By declaring any other person winner other than Christine Nandagire Ndiwalana would require court to show that all candidates were validly nominated and the other person won and scored higher than Nandagire, which is not the case in this matter.” Ruled Justice Katunguka.
Ruth Katushabe during cross examination testified that she does not have any complaints on the 6599 votes she got, that the 9617 voters Christine Nandagire shows a margin of about 3000 votes between her and the 2nd Respondent.
Judge said, “The right to vote entails not only, casting a ballot paper for a candidate of one’s choice, but also and equally important, is the knowledge that the vote will be treated equally as all the other votes cast in the election, before a candidate is declared a winner. The petitioner (Katushabe) did not get the highest number of votes and the votes of all must be taken into account in the choice of a member of parliament for Bukomansimbi North constituency. The petitioner cannot be declared winner because she is not.”
This is how her prayer was not considered and the judge instead ordered for a by election.
Hon. Ndiwalana says even a by election is not needed, Bukomansimbi North voters spoke loudly, they massively elected their MP and the chapter closed. This is why she has gone to the Court of Appeal.
“Read the last page of Justice Katunguka’s judgement. She categorically said, ‘The Petitioner failed to prove that the 2nd Respondent (Nandagire) did not have the Uganda Certificate of Education as alleged’. I am ready to make our case before court of Appeal that I posses the required academic qualifications for Member of Parliament. Truth will set us free.” A confident Hon. Nandagire told this news Website.
FACTS COURT OF APPEAL WILL BASE ON TO DUSTBIN JUSTICE KATUNGUKA’S JUDGEMENT
● Christine Nandagire Ndiwalana was duly nominated by Returning Officer electoral commission Bukomansimbi District.
We have accessed the file and it contains the following documents:
1) Nomination form fully filled and signed by the 10 seconders
2) Declaration of Nominated candidate
3) A statutory declaration for swearing her names
4) A deed poll confirming all her 3names and it was done in 2018
5) National ID
6) A recommendation letter from her former primary school
7) Uganda Certificate of Education
8) A certificate of Midwifery from Nsambya School of Nursing and Midwifery which took her two and a half years to obtain
9) A certificate of enrollment from ministry of health (Uganda Nurses and Midwifery council)
10) A certificate of Advanced level of it’s equivalent from National Council for higher education.
NB: All those documents mentioned above were certified by their bodies.
● Justice Katunguka errored in nullifying the certificates from a Ministry of Education recognized institution which were also approved by the National Council for higher education (NCHE).
DETAILS OF DR. NDIWALANA’S EDUCATION STATUS
■ She sat for PLE in 1988 at Kyaziiza Primary school
■ In 1992 sat for O’Level at Uganda Matyr’s SS Bukalagi and awarded a UCE certificate.
■ In 1997, she completed her Midwifery course at a renowned St. Francis Hospital Nsambya and was awarded a certificate.
■ Later, she was enrolled and got a certificate from the ministry of health (The Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council).
■ National Council for Higher Education considered this certificate for Nandagire Ndiwalana to equate and issued out “The certificate of Completion of Formal Education of Advanced level or it’s Equivalent”
■ Away from that, in 2012, Christine Nandagire Ndiwalana got a Diploma in Guidance and Counseling from Uganda Matyrs University Nkozi (UMU)
■ She was admitted at the International Health Science University (IHSU), today known as Clarke international University (CIU) for a diploma as a Medical Clinical Officer.
■ Dr. Ndiwalana holds a Bachelor’s of medicine and Bachelor’s of Surgery from Islamic University In Uganda (IUIU).
ABOUT THE NAME
● In Primary, she used Nandagire Christine.
● At O’level, she used Chriss Nandagire.
● At St. Francis Hospital Nsambya she used Nandagire Christine.
● At University, she added on her late dad’s name, Ndiwalana.
● Her National ID bears the name of Nandagire Christine Ndiwalana.
● She swore an affidavit about the three names while joining Uganda Matyr’s University in 2009.
● Nandagire Christine Ndiwalana also swore by her three names in the statutory declaration and Deed poll in 2018.
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