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FDC’s Kantinti kicked out of Parliament

The ruling followed a successful petition to court by NRM's William Sitenda Sebalu (L) who had been beaten in the February 18 election by FDC's Apollo Kantinti (R) by a small margin of 326 votes. Monitor photo

KAMPALA. The High Court in Kampala on Friday kicked out of Parliament the Kyadondo East constituency MP Apollo Kantinti (FDC) after court in its findings, discovered that there was non-compliance with election rules during the February 18 parliamentary elections in that constituency.
The presiding judge Isabirye Kaweesa ordered the Electoral Commission to organize fresh elections in Kantinti’s constituency.
While nullifying Kantinti’s election, Justice Kaweesa faulted the Wakiso District returning officer Ms Sarah Bukirwa for disfranchising the voters and also failing to secure custody of election materials.

The ruling followed a successful petition to court by NRM's William Sitenda Sebalu who had been beaten in the February 18 election by Kantinti by a small margin of 326 votes.
Mr Sebalu had in his petition sued Kantinti, the Electoral Commission and Bukirwa for conniving to commit several election irregularities which he said affected the quality of the election in Kyadondo East in a substantial manner, hence the nullification of the same by the court.
The judge also faulted Ms Bukirwa for failing to account for the whereabouts of the Declaration Forms from seven polling stations in the constituency and that even after detecting this anomaly, she did not file a police report in relation to the said seven polling stations whose results that she unfairly and unilaterally cancelled.

Justice Kaweesa also in his ruling expressed his concerns about the poorly done work by the various presiding officers in Kyadondo constituency.
The judge cited Mr Sempebwa Kato, the then presiding officer of Manyangwa TC polling station, whom he said that in his testimony in court, confessed on oath to having signed DR forms before the commencement of the voting exercise, an action that was illegal.

“In such circumstances of erroneous entering of results in DR forms, it was very difficult to ascertain the winning margin between contenders of this election where Kantinti was declared winner with 9005 votes and Mr Sebalu as second runner up with 8679 votes.” ruled the judge.
For losing the petition, the judge ordered the EC and its returning officer Ms Bukirwa to pay Mr Sebalu costs that he used to successfully pursue this matter.
The nullification of Mr Kantinti's election comes at the time when about 13 other newly elected legislators have equally been thrown out of the tenth Parliament on different grounds including lack of academic papers.