NATIONAL
“The High Court in Kampala has issued an arrest warrant for businessman and also former aspirant for the Nakawa West Constituency Member of Parliament seat, Mukesh Shukla over failure to pay a court fine of Shs73 million.
“This is to direct you to arrest and bring the judgment debtor (Mr Mukesh) before this court with all convenience and speed unless the said sum is paid,” reads the warrant of arrest notice issued by the registrar of the court, Mr Jamson Karemani.
“You are further commanded to return this warrant by August 30 with an endorsement certifying the day and the manner in which it has been executed or the reason why it has not been executed,” the warrant added.
Mukesh filed a petition contesting NUP’s Joel Ssenyonyi’s victory but he lost both cases at Nakawa High Court and Court of Appeal.
On Wednesday, the high court in Kampala issued a warrant of arrest ordering the arrest of Shukla Mukesh if he does not pay the decree-holder costs of the election petition and the applications amounting to Shs73,050,000.
The warrant was issued by the Civil Division Registrar, Jamson Karemani, following an application by Ssenyonyi.
In March this year, the Court of Appeal declared Ssenyonyi the duly elected Nakawa West MP after throwing out a petition by Mukesh Shukla challenging the former’s nomination and irregularities in the 2021 elections.
Everything started when Mukesh challenged NUP spokeperson Joel Ssenyonyi’s victory before the High Court in Kampala after losing the January 14, 2021 Nakawa West parliamentary elections.
Businessman Mukesh ran to the High Court after being unsatisfied with the election results, accusing Ssenyonyi of committing several electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing and failing to sign the Declaration of Results forms.
He accused Mr Ssenyonyi of stuffing ballots at eight polling stations where he got 81 instead of 58 votes. But presiding High Court judge Isaac Muwata dismissed the application with costs in October 2021 for lack of sufficient evidence, forcing him to appeal against it before the Court of Appeal. The upper court upheld the election of Mr Ssenyonyi and ordered Mr Mukesh to pay legal costs.
