The Court of Appeal has Monday dismissed an election petition by former Information Minister Kabakumba Masiko and ordered her to pay court costs to her contender in the previous Masindi Municipality Parliamentary Elections, Hon Monday Ernest Kiiza.
The three Court of Appeal judges led by Deputy Chief justice Steven Kavuma ruled in favour of Kiiza, who is also the Bunyoro Affairs Minister; nullifying High Court’s Justice Elizabeth Kabanda’s ruling in which she had ordered for fresh elections in Masindi.
The judges ruled unanimously that Mrs Kabakumba showed no sufficient evidence linking Mp Kiiza to the alleged bribery of voters with salt, footballs, jerseys and construction of wells.
The court also ruled that Kabakumba never revealed the details and particulars of the voters who allegedly received gifts from MP Kiiza and his agents, which is the required standard to prove bribery allegations.
The judges thus proceeded to confirm Kiiza as the duly elected MP Masindi Municipality and quashed an order which had been earlier issued to the Electoral Commission to prepare a by-election.