KAMPALA.
Lawyers representing National Unity Platform (NUP) Kadongokamu singer turned politician Mathias Walukagga have advised him to follow his party’s guidance after losing a court petition that sought to reinstate him as candidate in the Busiro East Parliamentary race .
Walukagga was disqualified from the race after the High Court upheld an earlier decision by the Electoral Commission barring him from contesting, citing failure to meet the required academic qualifications.
One of his lawyers Elias Luyimbaazi Nalukoola, criticised the handling of the case, saying it exposed weaknesses in how electoral disputes are managed in the country.
“This case revealed serious gaps in how electoral petitions are handled. In our view, the matter was determined more politically than legally,” Nalukoola said.
Walukagga has not yet personally commented on the ruling and NUP is yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
Nalukoola said that although the legal team was dissatisfied with the court’s decision, all available legal avenues had been exhausted.
“We are not satisfied with the outcome, but we have no further legal recourse. We have advised our client to respect the party’s direction and wait for the next electoral opportunity,” he said.
The lawyer also questioned aspects of the ruling, arguing that some critical issues were left unresolved, particularly regarding Walukagga’s academic qualifications.
“There are serious questions the court did not address, including how Walukagga is expected to obtain his degree next year without a Sixth Form certificate or its equivalent,” Nalukoola added.
In his Sunday ruling, Justice Simon Kinobe said Mr Walukagga’s expired certificate presented at the time of his nomination cannot lead to a legitimate nomination.
“The petitioner did not possess a valid academic qualification at the time of nomination. His nomination was invalid and rightly set aside by the 1st respondent (Electoral Commission) for the above reasons,” ruled Justice Kinobe, before adding that the Electoral Commission rightly denominated Mr Walukagga,.
What is surprising is the giving of the ruling on a Sunday –which is not a working day . Justice Kinobe had promised to give his ruling on Monday December 22.
The possible option NUP is likely to take is to rally behind a party leaning independent candidate Emmanuel Magoola. Also in the race are Medard Ssegoona( Ind) Engineer Nakate Lilian (Ind) ,Nasolo Irene(Ind) ,
NRM’s Abdul Kiyimba,Kangave Fred, Banji Fatuma of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT),Kalungi Masmuus, among others — making Busiro East one of the most crowded political arenas in the district.