Nalubowa’s Lawyers Threaten to Proceed with Election Appeal in Her Absence

The election appeal challenging the Masaka City Woman MP results has taken a dramatic turn, with lawyers representing former National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Rose Nalubowa threatening to proceed with the case despite her absence and apparent withdrawal of support for the appeal. 

Samuel Mulindwa Muyizzi and Alexander Lule Nkima, who represented Nalubowa in the High Court, say they no longer require her consent to pursue the appeal, insisting they are prepared to argue the matter before the Court of Appeal even without her participation. 

Last month, High Court Judge Bernard Namanya upheld the results of a vote recount exercise conducted by Masaka Chief Magistrate Abert Asiimwe, which declared National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Justine Nameere the winner of the Masaka City Woman MP election. 

The recount overturned the victory of Nalubowa, whom the Electoral Commission had initially declared the winner of the January 15th general election, prompting her to seek remedy in the High Court through an election petition, which was dismissed. 

The lawyers argue that although Nalubowa is the principal petitioner, she cannot unilaterally stop the appeal from proceeding, for whatever reason.

Last week, Nalubowa surprised her supporters when she confirmed reports that she had met President Yoweri Museveni and that she had been persuaded to withdraw from the ongoing election dispute with Nameere. 

However, despite her revelation and likely compromise to abandon the petition or change her position on pursuing the appeal, Muyizzi insists that, as lawyers, they will take the matter to its logical conclusion.

Speaking to journalists in Masaka, the lawyers said they were equally surprised by their client’s declaration but maintain that her position will not affect their resolve to pursue the appeal, which they had already filed.

According to Muyizzi, the appeal challenging Justice Namanya’s decision raises critical issues of public interest and the need to correct legal jurisprudence, which he argues take precedence over Nalubowa’s individual interests. 

Muyizzi says that during preparatory stages of filing the petition, they cautioned Nalubowa against submitting herself to any non-judicial inquiries into the election dispute, warning that such processes were unlikely to yield any meaningful outcome. 

He adds that although Nalubowa had informed them about an inquiry by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, she never disclosed her meeting with President Yoweri Museveni or any assurances or benefits she may secure from the engagement.   

Meanwhile, Nalubowa remains tight-lipped about whether she still intends to pursue the election appeal, despite the position taken by her lawyers. 

She says she met President Yoweri Museveni after being summoned to explain her position on the election dispute, adding that she had no alternative but to honour the directive. 

Nalubowa reveals that before attending the meeting, she consulted several stakeholders, including senior leaders within the National Unity Platform (NUP), who gave her the go-ahead, saying the engagement was in the interest of defending her election victory. 

Sam Ssekyewa, one of the lawyers representing Nameere, says their legal team is fully prepared to defend their client before any court where the opposing side chooses to pursue the matter.