The republic of uganda in the supreme court of uganda at kampala

(2) Any person who contravenes sub-section (1) commits an offence.”

This provision appears intended to provide an atmosphere of freedom at or near the Polling Station. It prohibits the holding of deadly weapons at Polling Stations unless so authorised or unless the weapon is heed by virtue of office. This section creates an offence committed by a person, and it appears to be it may not be breached by the 2nd Respondent unless it unlawfully authorised any person to hold a deadly weapon at a Polling Station. The Act does not contain a definition of a deadly weapon but it must be such a weapon when may cause death when used for offensive purposes. A gun or a panga could be a deadly weapon.

Section 40 of the Act makes a Presiding Officer to require the assistance of a Police Officer or other persons present to aid him or her in maintaining peace and good order at the Polling Station. Section 41 provides that where there is no Police Officer to maintain order in a rural Polling Station and the necessity to maintain such order arises the Presiding Officer shall appoint a person to be an Election Constable to maintain order in the Polling Station throughout the day. But a Presiding Officer may only appoint a person other than a Police Officer to be an Election Constable where there is actual or threatened disorder or when it is likely that a large number of voters will seek to vote at the same time. It is clear therefore that security at Polling stations is required to be maintained by Police Officers or election constables.

The Petitioner adduced the evidence of several witnesses to support his case. Alex Busingye who was in-charge of overseeing the operations and welfare of the Polling Agents for the Petitioner in Kazo County in Mbarara District claims that at the majority of the Polling Stations he visited he found that the Polling Agents for the Petitioner had been chased away by armed UPDF soldiers. She gives only one example of one Polling Station called Nkungu where she found a Monitor for the Station had been tied by UPDF soldiers and bundled on a motor vehicle Reg. No. 114 UBS pick-up in which they were travelling.

Mbabazi Kalinda who was the Presiding Officer at Nkungu Trading Centre Polling Station A-K denied the allegations made by Busingye. He stated that Busingye never complained to him that an Election Monitor had been taken away by soldiers. He denied that at his Polling Station a Monitor was tied up by soldiers and bundled on a pick-up.

Mary Frances Ssemambo who was the Chairperson of the Petitioner’s Task Force in Mbarara District claims that in many Polling Stations in Nyabusozi County and lsingiro County South, Polling Agents for the Petitioner were harassed, arrested, beaten, tied up and detained or threatened with violence and chased from the Polling Stations by heavily armed UPDF soldiers, LDUs and the 1st Respondent’s Agents, and the interests of the Petitioner in numerous Polling Stations were not safeguarded. She does not indicate how she came to know this or any agent who was so treated.

Hezzy Kafureka, the Returning Officer of Mbarara District denied the allegations made by Ssemambo. He stated that the anomalies in the Declaration of Results Forms were a result of arithmetic errors, which were corrected during the polling process, and the forms were endorsed by all Polling Agent of the Petitioner.

Koko Medad who was a Polling Monitor for the Petitioner in Kanungu District claimed that when he reported at his Polling Station, he found Polling Officials working together with non-officials including an army veteran called Kakambe and others. Kakambe was guarding the ballot box armed with a gun and he threatened to kill anybody who touched it. He also claims that the Petitioner’s Agents were chased from the polling area, to stand about 50 metres away. This was done by a District Councillor Peter Mugisha. But Rutanaza Silver who was the Presiding Officer denied the allegations and stated that all Polling Monitors were present till the counting of votes.

John Kijumba who was a Monitor for the Petitioner for Bukonjo West Constituency in Kasese District claims that prior to the polling day, a soldier by the name of Kilindiro William who came to [is area and said that he had been sent by State House to arrest those campaigning for the Petitioner, and that he had their list, which included his name. On the polling day, at Katojo Polling Station, he noted that there were about 10 army men all armed with guns guarding The Polling Centre. He did not say that the soldiers intimidated or interfered with the voting.

Milton Wakabalya who was the Presiding Officer for Katojo Polling Station in Kasese District denied the allegations made by John Kijumba. He stated that on the polling day, Katushabe Marusi identified to him as the appointed Polling Constable. He never saw Marusi carrying any firearm nor did he see any armed men at the Polling Station, nor did he receive any report of their presence.

Imoni Stephen a Campaign Agent for the Petitioner in Kwapa County, Tororo District claimed that on polling day at the close of the polling the Presiding Officer convinced all Agents to sign the Declaration Forms before votes were tallied. Before the votes could be counted, the LC Ill Chairman, Alfred Obore returned to the Polling Station after 6.00 p.m. with a gun cocked it and ordered everybody to disappear.

They disappeared but returned 30 minutes later only to find that at the end of the exercise 1 60 ballot papers had not been used leaving 65 ballot papers unaccounted for. After disagreement the agents of the Petitioner insisted that the 65 votes be destroyed. The matter was reported to CID Malaba who arrested the Presiding Officer but later released him.

Masasiro Stephen who was a Polling Agent for the Petitioner at Nkusi Primary School Polling Station claimed that while at the Polling Station a disturbance was started by the Area Sub-county Chief Abdu Mudoma, the Chairman of the 1 Respondent’s Task Force, All Mukhholi the Sub-county Councillor, Mr. Michael Namundi who came to the Station with 4 armed soldiers. The soldiers shot in the air. The Polling Agents for the Petition - himself and Mr. Wafuba were severely assaulted. After the assault, he alleges that the Sub-county Chief, the Sub-County Councillor and the Chairman of the 1st Respondent’s Task Force put ballot papers in which the 1st Respondent’s picture had been ticked into the ballot box. When they tried to intervene, they were assaulted further and removed from the ballot box. He struggled with Ali Mukholi and snatched 5 ballot papers from him. He took the ballot papers to Mbale Police Station where he made a report. Magezi Abu who was the Presiding Officer at Bus Park “A” Polling Station in Bugiri District denied that any soldiers ever came to his Polling Station and forced unauthorised people to vote as alleged by Niiro.

Baguma John Henry was appointed a Monitor for the Petitioner in the whole of Bukonjo County in Kasese District. He alleges that on 1 2 March 2001, the RDC in-charge of Bukonjo West, one Aggrey Mwami came to Musaa Polling Station, with a lorry full of armed soldiers. Mwami ordered the Presiding Officer to allow all soldiers to vote and handed to the Presiding Officer the names of the soldiers when the Polling Station had its own register before the RDC arrived. When he protested he was overpowered and threatened with death by a soldier in-charge of operations at Nyabwongo Army Battalion Headquarters. He noted that the men who had voted at Nyabwongo Army Barracks had been transported to Rwenghuyo and Kisenga Trading Centre Polling Station where they voted again. When he pointed this out to the Presiding Officer, he was chased away by Major Muhindo Mawa who threatened to kill him if he continued to protest against the soldiers voting from any Polling Station (NB soldiers were voters). No guns were seen. He does not explain how he recognised soldiers who had voted in other Polling Stations.

Major Mawa Muhindo of the UPDF stationed at 13th Battalion Bwera in Kasese District denied the allegations made by Baguma John that he went to Rwenghuyo and Kisenga Trading Centres. He stated that he voted at Kisolholho Primary School Polling Station, which is approximately 20 kilometres away from Kisenga Trading Centre. He denied chasing away Baguma or threatened to kill him as alleged.

Alex Otim who was a Monitor of the Petitioner in Paico Division in Gulu District stated that while he was at Paico P.7 School together with another Monitor, they found that two soldiers were deployed at each Polling Station. He claimed that the soldiers were forcing old people to vote according to their choice. He mentions the following soldiers as being involved in the malpractices - Opoka Denis, Mawa Rasheet, Dumba Julius and Ocen Francis. He alleges that when they chased the soldiers away from the Polling Station, they went to a nearby barracks and came back armed and were also using an army vehicle (mamba). The soldiers assaulted and arrested him and Okello Saul and released them at 8.00 p.m. after voting.

Despite denials by the witnesses of the Respondents, I accept the evidence for the Petitioner that in a few Polling Stations there were some armed people contrary to the law.