Court dismisses case against Mbabaali papers

Hajj Mbabaali (L) and wife Mariam Najjemba Mbabaali (R) address journalists at Masaka High Court yesterday. Photo by Malik Fahad Jjingo

Masaka. The High Court in Masaka has dismissed a case in which Lwengo District Woman MP Gertrude Nakabira challenged the academic papers of Bukoto South MP-elect Hajj Muhammad Muyanja Mbabaali.

Ms Nakabira, who stood against Hajj Mbabaali in the February 18 parliamentary elections and lost went to court last November challenging his nomination, claiming that he lacked the required academic qualifications.
While delivering his ruling on Wednesday, Justice John Eudes Keitirima said the case had been overtaken by events since Hajj Mbabaali had been nominated and elected as a Member of Parliament for Bukoto South constituency.

“...The applicant (Nakabira) had a right to change the application to an election petition but she did not. I therefore dismiss the suit with costs,” the judge ruled.
Earlier, Hajj Mbabaali’s lawyers led by Mr Caleb Alaka and Ms Mariam Mbabaali had asked court to dismiss the suit on grounds that it had been poorly filed and it had been overtaken by events. Hajj Mbabaali welcomed the ruling, saying no competent court could proceed with such a case that “was full of hatred and anger”.

“I am very happy with the ruling, it was fair. I want the applicant to pay costs for tarnishing my image,” he said
Ms Nakabira, who was present in court, said she will discuss the ruling with her lawyer to see if there is a possibility of an appeal. Hajj Mbabaali insists that he sat his Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) exams at Nsambya Sharing Hall Centre in Kampala, which he passed in 2013 and later enrolled on mature entry at Makerere University in addition to a diploma in Information Technology he had received from Uganda Pentecostal University.
In 2014, the Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate in conjunction with the Director of Public Prosecutions also cleared Hajj Mbabaali of allegations that he forged his academic papers hence not being eligible to be a legislator.