KAMPALA. The National Unity Platform (NUP) flag bearer for the Busiro East parliamentary seat, Mr Mathias Walukagga, has sued the Electoral Commission (EC) after it cancelled his nomination over a lack of the requisite academic documents.
Through his lawyers, Mr Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola and Mr Alex Lugambwa, the Kadongo kamu singer and Kyengera Town Council mayor, on Thursday, December 11, petitioned the High Court challenging the EC’s ruling, which he described as illegal.
According to Mr Nalukoola, EC’s claim that Mr Walukagga’s mature age education certificate had expired by the time he submitted it to support his candidature was unconstitutional because the commission lacks jurisdiction to invalidate academic qualifications.
“EC has no power to overturn the National Council for Higher Education findings. Its mandate is election management, not determining who went to school or not,” Mr Nalukoola said
He stressed that any disputes concerning academic equivalence must be referred to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb ), or issuing universities for clarification.
He argued that once NCHE issues a certificate of equivalence, any challenge should be filed in the High Court, not before the Electoral Commission, hence their decision to sue the Electoral Commission, chaired by Justice Simon Byabakama.
“We believe the High Court will reverse EC’s ruling because it had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter. Mr Walukagga is currently pursuing a degree from a recognised university. You cannot enroll for a degree without a valid senior six equivalence,” he emphasised.
According to Chapter 4(1c) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 2005, any person vying for the parliamentary seat must have completed a minimum formal education of Advanced Level standard or its equivalent.
Mr Walukagga stated that his academic documents are authentic and valid making him eligible to contest for the race as per the law there, noting they were certified by the NCHE after a series of updates.
The musician turned politician further revealed that he is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public administration and management from St Lawrence University after he used the same documents for admission.
“When you say that my certificate is invalid, do you want to say that I am at school illegally? When I was nominated, I presented these same documents, and they were accepted. Why are they saying that my certificates have expired now? This was a political decision, but we are heading to the High Court to seek a meaningful legal decision,” he said.
The EC’s decision has attracted mixed reactions and stirred debate, with some commentators arguing that it is a move by the regime to eliminate opposition candidates, especially members of NUP.Walukagga’s troubles started when a voter in the constituency petitioned EC.
Walukagga, a first-time contender, beat seasoned politician and lawyer and incumbent MP Medard Sseggona in NUP party primaries.
Sseggona, who publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the process, opted to seek re-election as an independent candidate.
The development dramatically reconfigures the contest and is likely to trigger political fallout within NUP, whose internal processes had already sparked friction in the constituency. It is not yet clear whether NUP will put its weight behind Emmanuel Magoola Matovu ,an independent but NUP-leaning candidate or Ssengoona. Also in the race are; 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.