The National Resistance Movement (NRM) has lined up a team of 40 lawyers to defend the party against a petition in which the National Unity Platform (NUP) team is seeking the annulment of the election of Mr. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in the January 14 presidential election.
On Monday, NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi filed a legal challenge in the country’s Supreme Court, seeking cancellation of the results of last month’s presidential election that handed incumbent Yoweri Museveni the victory citing 26 grounds on which they base their petition including ballot stuffing, intimidation of NUP agents and supporters and pre-ticked ballot papers.
In preparation NRM has put a 40-man legal team led by the party Legal Director Oscar Kihika. They will face off with the National Unity Platform’s 25-man legal team who petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the outcome of the general election.
However, NRM party top lawyers while sharing thoughts on the party’s preparedness for the election petition say that the law is against the petitioners.
Oscar Kihika who is the party’s legal director says that he feels sorry for the petitioners adding that, it is only 20% of the evidence collected that are useful, referring to the rest as ‘wolokoso’ (hearsay). He says they are prepared enough for such petitions. “It would be silly not to prepare for an election petition. You start preparing early so that when the petitions come, you are prepared. I feel sorry for the petitioners, it is only 20% of the evidence collected that is useful, the rest is hearsay,” Kihika said.
The deputy attorney general, Jackson Kafuuzi, confirmed receipt of the court summons saying these issues are always about evidence especially on the side of the petitioner. “You can file a thousand allegations but all that matters is the substance in there. If there is no substance then it will be wasting time,” Kafuuzi said.