The Rujumbura county MP- elect, Major General Jim Katugugu Muhwezi might again lose his seat after the incumbent, Hon. Fred T Turyamuhweza petitioned court challenging his victory in the January 14 parliamentary polls.
On March 18, Turyamuhweza through his lawyers of Byamukama and company advocates petitioned high court in Kabale seeking to nullify Muhwezi’s victory on allegations of high voter bribery, intimidation, ballot stuffing among other electoral malpractices.
Turyamhweza of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party lost to former ICT minister Muhwezi whom he had unseat in the February 2016 elections having represented Rujumbura county Rukungiri district to parliament for 30yrs (since 1996).
In a hotly contested January 14 election, Turyamuhweza polled 20,556 votes losing the race to Maj Gen Jim Muhwezi (NRM) who garnered 23,990 votes.
In a petition, Maj. Gen Jim Muhwezi is accused of engaging voters in bribery, intimidation and denying his opponent’s electoral agents access to the some polling centres where vote stuffing was conducted contrary to the provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
Turyamuhweza wants court to announce that the declaration of election results for Rujumbura County was not conducted in compliance with the law governing elections in Uganda which substantially affected the outcome.
He will now have to wait until April when court will give its ruling on the matters.
Means to get a comment from Maj. Gen Jim Muhwezi were futile but a close ally told Parrots UG that he was aware of the petition and ready to respond.
