Lira High Court to Hear Three Election Petitions on Monday

The High Court in Lira has fixed three election petitions for hearing on Monday.

According to the cause list signed by the Lira High Court Registrar Ssalaamu Godfrey Ngobi, the petitions will be heard by Justice Isaac Muwata, the Lira Resident Judge. The cases include that of former State Minister for Housing Sam Engola who is challenging the victory of Jonathan Odur for the Erute South seat.

Odur, the Uganda People’s Congress-UPC candidate was declared the winner with 17,763 votes, while Engola obtained 15,606 votes.

Engola says that there were a lot of irregularities and illegalities in the election. He alleges that Odur, with the knowledge of the Electoral Commission, used the money to bribe voters on polling day.

The other two cases also fixed for hearing include one filed by Bonny Aliro, the National Resistance Movement Youth Chairperson for Aromo Sub County challenging the declaration of Linda Agnes Auma as Woman MP for Lira district.

Auma who stood on the Independent ticket after losing the NRM Primaries obtained 22,086 votes followed by NRM’s Florence Ongina with 19,004 votes.

Aliro wants Court to annul the election of Auma and declare Ongina, saying that she did not have valid academic papers for one to contest and that she was erroneously nominated by the Electoral Commission because she had not resigned as the Resident District Commissioner of Amuru.

Also fixed on Monday is the case in which the former UPC Candidate in Lira City Mayoral race Mike Ogwang Olwa is challenging the victory of Sam Atulwho.

Last week, the Chief Justice-CJ Alfonse Owiny-Dollo directed the resumption of the hearing of both criminal and civil matters under strict observance of the Standard Operating Procedures-SOPs aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Justice Owiny-Dollo, who had also suspended the hearing of Election Petitions, has ordered that hearings resume on August 16 2021. URN