Two Terego MP candidates disqualified

Mr Martin Andua, one of the candidates who was denominated for Terego West MP seat in Terego district on ANT ticket.  PHOTO/ FELIX WAROM OKELLO

What you need to know:

  • One of the affected candidates, Mr Martin Andua (ANT), who had earlier resigned as assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Arua, said disqualifying them was betrayal of the voters of Terego

Two candidates vying for Terego West Constituency have been disqualified by the Electoral Commission (EC).
This follows a petition by a voter, Mr Emmanuel Candia, alleging that there were variations in the names of the two candidates on their academic papers. One of the affected candidates, Mr Martin Andua (ANT), who had earlier resigned as assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Arua, said disqualifying them was betrayal of the voters of Terego.

“We had hoped to play clean politics in Terego but this has now been reversed. Those who petitioned against us know we have used those names while serving in government for many years, in my case for 25 years. None of us has forged the academy papers and no one has claimed that the papers we hold belong to them,” Mr Andua said yesterday.
He said he had forgiven the petitioner with a view that he is just being used as a proxy. The decision to disqualify the two was arrived at by the EC tribunal on November 6.

Mr Candia said in his complaint letter to the EC: “Martin Drani Andua and Sam Raxton Egama Adrapi got nominated as candidates for MP for Terego with with variations in their names of their O-Level and A-Level certificates. Mr Andua’s certificates indicated the name as Andua E. Drani. And there was no deed poll on the record to harmonise the anomalies.”
The EC letter disqualifying the two, signed by the EC chairman, Justice Simon Byabakama, reads, in part: “The respondent (Andua Martin Drani) furnished and presented O-Level and A-Level certificates in the name of Andua E. Drani. And the respondent’s name differs from the name on the university certificate, as well as on the National ID.”
Efforts to speak to Mr Egama (Independent), a former Athletic Coach, was futile by press time. 
Seven candidates had been nominated for the seat. This now leaves Mr Musema Swali (FDC), Mr Chris Mulema (Independent), Mr Bosco Ajobe (Independent), Mr Joal Leku (NRM) and the incumbent Moses Angundru (Independent) in the race.