Court dismisses Fred Nyanzi Vote Recount Petition

KAMPALA, UGANDA: Court in Mengo has dismissed with costs the petition filed by Fred Nyanzi to have Kampala central MP votes recounted stating that Nyanzi did not provide sufficient evidence on allegations put across

In a court hearing held today at Mwanga II Court in Mengo, Chief Magistrate Esther Nasambu dismissed the matter saying Nyanzi did not collect enough evidence prove his allegations that some of his agents were denied access to numerous polling stations and that some of his poll results were interchanged.

“The applicant has not shown any sufficient cause to guarantee a recount, rather, he has based his accusations on hearsay evidence which Court cannot base upon to make a case from this omnibus application,” Court ruled.

Court also noted that none of the agents, who are said to have been denied access to polling stations, was mentioned or swore an affidavit to support Nyanzi’s allegations.

The Magistrate further pointed out that Nyanzi didn’t inform the Returning officer in time about his intention to apply for a recount for proper storage of the ballot boxes as provided for under the law.

“Currently court cannot ascertain the condition of the ballot boxes since it’s not the custodian. You may find that some votes were removed or some stuffing was done during the past days,” she said.

For 2577 votes alleged to have been left out during the counting exercise, Court said there were more than two candidates in the race and therefore the applicant had to produce evidence that these votes were not for anybody else but his.