Voters petition EC over Bukedea MP’s academic papers
Anita Among, Bukedea Woman MP.
What you need to know:
- The petitioners also contend that her national Identity (ID) Card presented for nomination bears the names; Among Annet. The ID was issued in 2014, and the petitioners wonder why she did not present the names that are on her A-Level certificate. To them, EC should have noticed the anomalies and blocked Ms Among’s nomination.
Two voters have asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to cancel the nomination of Ms Annet Anita Among for the Bukedea District Woman parliamentary seat, citing inconsistencies in her academic papers.
In an October 21 letter seen by Daily Monitor and received by EC, Mr Aloysius Ochom and Mr Abraham Odongo, through their lawyer of M/s Alliance Advocates, allege that Ms Among’s nomination papers have many anomalies.
The two assert that her Ordinary Level (O-Level) certificate presented for nomination bears names of Among Anita, while that for Advanced Level (A-Level) bears the names; Among Annet Anita.
“Was she admitted for A-Level on the basis of the O-Level certificate bearing the names; Among Anita or another O -Level certificate bearing the names; Among Annet Anita? If it is the former, where is this certificate?” the petition reads in part.
The petitioners also contend that her national Identity (ID) Card presented for nomination bears the names; Among Annet. The ID was issued in 2014, and the petitioners wonder why she did not present the names that are on her A-Level certificate.
To them, EC should have noticed the anomalies and blocked Ms Among’s nomination.
“The registered particulars at NIRA [National Identification and Registration Authority] are paramount since it has statutory mandate to hold particulars of all persons under the Registration of Persons Act. It, therefore, means that person nominated by your Commission is not the person registered by NIRA,” the complainants said.
The petitioners also demand that the incumbent Woman MP be put to task to offer an explanation for the incessant changes in her names over the years.
Mr Paul Bukenya, the spokesperson for EC, yesterday said he was in a meeting and could not readily comment on the matter. Ms Among did not pick our repeated calls or respond to our SMS and WhatsApp messages.
On the first day of the nomination exercise, the Bukedea returning officer, Mr Raymond Kisarale, barred Ms Akol Odeke, Ms Akol Hellen Odeke of FDC, and Ms Merab Amongin from nomination for the Woman MP seat on grounds that the names on their academic papers were contradicting their NIRA particulars.
The trio has since appealed against the EC decision in courts of law.
