The Court of Appeal in Kampala  has  last week on Friday dismissed with costs a case in which Hon Spellanza Baguma Muhenda, had appealed the Fort Portal High Court ruling dismissing her petition challenging the victory of Faith Kunihira.

On Friday, May 03, 2024, the appeals Court in Kampala cleared Hon Faith Kunihira based on all substantive grounds of the appeal.

Baguma dragged Kunihira and the Electoral Commission on grounds that the parliamentary polls were marred by irregularities.

On September 8, 2021, Justice Victoria Katamba of  Fort Portal High Court dismissed the petition because Baguma didn’t have an accompanying affidavit to support her petition as provided for in the law.

Her affidavit accompanying the petition was also administered before an unlicensed Commissioner of Oaths. However, she applied to the court to allow her to re-commission the affidavits before a licensed commissioner of oaths, however, Justice Katamba denied her request.

In her appeal, Baguma had listed five grounds. She says that the judge erred in law and fact when she denied her application to re-administer the oath.

Baguma adds that the decision to dismiss her application due to the mistakes of the advocate was harsh and excessive and adds that the justice wrongly emphasized a quick trial at the expense of resolving the election petition which occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

She wanted the appellant court to set aside Justice Katamba’s judgment and order a re-trial of the petition by a different and “impartial” judge.

In a petition, Baguma, also a former woman MP, alleged that Kunihira was not qualified to be nominated because she allegedly lacked academic qualifications of a minimum formal education of Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education or its equivalent.

Kunihira was declared winner of the election with 75,575 votes while Baguma emerged second with 51,965 votes.