No process will legitimise Museveni’s “win” – Besigye

Dr Kizza Besigye has said there is no process that will legitimise the election of Mr Museveni in the February 18 polls.

Speaking through a televised interview Thursday at his home in the far flange suburb of Kasangati in Wakiso District Dr Besigye said as the second runner up he would have been the right person to petition court but “I have not had that chance, given that the greatest majority of irregularities were done on my supporters”.

“You cannot imprison your challengers and then masquerade around as having won the election. That is absolutely unacceptable,” Dr Besigye said, adding this is a fundamental problem which calls for Ugandans to free themselves from ‘captivity’.

Dr Besigye, who has been under house arrest for more than 40 days now, also said the independence of the Judiciary had been compromised and cannot deliver an inherently independent ruling.

In a ruling delivered Thursday, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Mr Museveni “was duly elected as President of Uganda”, dismissing the prayer for costs in a case filed by Mr Amama Mbabazi challenging the election of Mr Museveni.

In March Mr Mbabazi petitioned the Supreme Court seeking for an annulment of the election of Mr Museveni, that the Electoral Commission said he had won by 60.7 per cent.

In his petition Mr Mbabazi raised a number of grounds, which among them included electoral fraud, ballot stuffing and bribery.

But in its ruling delivered by Chief Justice Bart Katurebe, court found no evidence to support the allegations that had been raised in the petition.

The outcome of the elections, Dr Besigye, who continues to call the February 18 polls a sham, said should have been subjected to an appropriate audit, which would fully address the problems that had happened during the polls.

However, Mr Ofwono Opondo the NRM deputy party spokesperson and the government media centre executive director, dismissed Dr Besigye’s narrative, saying they [NRM] will not allow him [Dr Besigye] to pull them in his ‘ping-pong’.

“He [Dr Besigye] lost legitimacy. He has no relevancy. Unless he doesn’t believe in the rule of law and courts he should produce evidence which says otherwise or shut up,” he said, challenging Dr Besigye to accept the verdict of the court and the people of Uganda that was delivered in the February 18 polls.

Dr Besigye also said he was not surprised with the verdict of the court, adding if he had had an opportunity he would not be appealing for an annulment but asking “them [court] to announce the rightful winner who is me and not Mr Museveni”.

In an afternoon press briefing after the ruling Mr Mbabazi said their case had been hampered by the absence of evidence because some of the supporting documents (evidence) had been stolen in two separate raids on lawyers’ offices representing the petition.

“As you are well aware some of this evidence, which could have helped our case was stolen in raids which am surprised court did not give attention,” he said.