Katoto Appeals Decision Upholding Brother's Victory

The former Katerera County Member of parliament, Hatwib Katoto has appealed the dismissal of his petition challenging the victory of his brother, Muhammed Kato. Hatwib ran to Mbarara High Court challenging Kato’s victory, saying that he lacks the requisite advanced level academic qualifications.  

However, on September 21, 2021, Masaka High Court Judge Moses Kazibwe Kawumi dismissed the application, saying the petitioner had filed additional affidavits introducing new grounds. 

He explained that the new affidavits filed on August 9th 2021 illegally introduced new matters like the alleged donation of culverts by Kato, an electric pole at Kanywero Church of Uganda, bribery at Katokoni and other forms of malpractices, which amounted to a departure from the pleadings and were unacceptable in the law.  

Justice Kazibwe also concurred with Kato and the Electoral Commission’s legal team that all affidavits carried different font size and line spacing from the main body and that the statement of the Commissioner of Oaths was independent of all the pages, which he said was conclusive evidence that the deponents did not appear before the Commissioner of Oaths. 

He, therefore, dismissed the petition and asked Katoto to pay the respondents the costs of the suit. Katoto has decided to appeal the decision through his lawyers of Lukwago and Company Advocates raising five grounds. 

He argues that Justice Kazibwe erred in law and in fact when he expunged nine affidavits filed out of time from the court record hence occasioning a miscarriage of justice. 

"The learned trial Judge erred in law and in fact when he held that section 14A of the Advocates Act (Amendment ) Act, 2002 is not applicable in election petitions and thereby struck of the Appellant's affidavit for having been commissioned by an advocate without a valid Practicing Certificate hence occasioning a miscarriage of justice", reads the appeal in part.

Adding that ", the learned trial Judge erred in law and in fact when he awarded a certificate of costs of two Counsel with no reason advanced at all for the same. Katoto also faults the Judge for abdicating his duty of evaluating evidence on the court record and wrongly severing his affidavits for allegedly departing from the petition.   

Katoto now wants the Court of Appeal to allow his case and revert the petition to the High Court for trial. He also wants the court to order Kato and the Electoral Commission to pay him the costs of the suit. Kato won the Katerera County parliamentary seat after obtaining 12, 213 votes against Katoto's 9,302 votes.  Kato opted to run as an independent after losing to Kato in the NRM primaries.