Musumba in telephone conversation

In a series of losses to electoral petitions coined around inadequate academic papers, the High Court sitting in Jinja has nullified the election of National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s Hajat Rehema Watongola as a member of parliament for Kamuli municipality.

Kamuli Municipality was created as part of the 12 municipalities approved by parliament and became effective July 1, 2015 last year.

Watongole had been dragged to court by her rival Ms Salaamu Musumba the former LC5 Chairman of the district who had lost in the February 18 election prompting her to file a petition sighting fraudulency in the papers Watongola had presented during her nomination.

Electoral Commission results indicated that, Ms Watongola beat Ms Musumba to the seat, polling 8,175 votes against Ms Musumba’s 6,702 votes.

In the petition dated 29 March, Ms Musumba claimed that the documents from Busoga University, which Ms Watongola used to get nominated, were obtained fraudulently.

Hajat Rehema Watongola

She argued that what Ms Watongola presented a Uganda Certificate of Education from Town Hall in Jinja, diploma and degree certificates in Public Administration and Management from the university were not sufficient for nomination for her nomination.

For her nomination, Ms Watongola presented a Uganda Certificate of Education from Town Hall in Jinja, diploma and degree certificates in Public Administration and Management from the university.

However, Ms Musumba contested the validity of the qualifications. The former district chairperson also referred to minutes of a December 17, 2010, senate meeting of Busoga University, which resolved that a certificate used by Ms Watongola to gain admission to the institution was fake and subsequently recalled the qualifications it had awarded her.

Ms Musumba included the Electoral Commission, Busoga University and the National Council for Higher Education as the other respondents in the case.

Court conquered with Ms Musumba saying she had adduced substantial evidence on Wantongole lacking the requisite academic qualifications to contest for the MP seat and thus called for a by-election for the post.

Watongole becomes  the 4th member of parliament to be thrown out due to suspicious academic papers in less than a month.