MP Nalukoola Rubbishes Witness Tampering Claims by NRM’s Nambi in election petition

The Highcourt has set 9th/ May to to give a determination on whether the newly elected Kawempe North MP Elias Nalukoola bribed witnesses belonging to NRM’s Faridah Nambi in an on-going election petition challenging the result of a recently concluded by-election.

Lawyers representing Nalukoola have vehemently denied allegations that their client bribed or tampered with witnesses belonging to his rival. 

The legal team led by Aelx Luganda have told  Justice Bernard Namanya  that none of the contested affidavits amount to witness recantation and that the accusations made by Nambi’s lawyers are both premature and legally unfounded.

Court  has heard that the three contested affidavits of Nathan Kayemba Muwaguzi, George Mawumbe and Ben Mukasa Lutale are being mis-characterised because Rule 19 of the Advocates Act  prohibits acts such as coercion, bribery, inducement, and witness tampering by advocates, and imposes a cardinal duty on legal professionals to maintain integrity, Nalukoola’s lawyers say that none of these prohibitions were breached in this case.

Court has further  heard that the preliminary objection that was raised by Nambi’s lawyers is nothing more than an extension of the political campaign attempting to win the election through the courts instead of the ballot box and should be dismissed with costs.

The team added that hostile witnesses are a common feature in legal proceedings and should not be locked out prematurely as its is the role of the court to interrogate them until the truth is established.

In the petition Nambi accuses Nalukoola of committing several electoral offenses during the by-election including bribing of voters with house  hold items and money and campaigning on the voting day with his slogans ” Nze Nalukoola”.

She also says the Electoral Commission failed to conduct the election in a free and fair manner by disenfranchising voters from 16 polling stations whose results were not included in the final tally.

Nalukoola and the Electoral Commission deny the allegations.

The by-election that took place on the 13^th of March was prepared to select a new representative following the death of former MP Muhammed Segirinya.