City lawyer Male Mabirizi has written to the Electoral Commission seeking to be availed with the academic documents for Kyadondo East MP and National Unity Platform leader, Robert Kyagulanyi also known as Bobi Wine.
In his letter to EC dated August 10th, Mabirizi says he wants Bobi Wine’s academic credentials to satisfy his doubts that the presidential hopeful possesses the minimum requisite papers for the office.
Section 4(3) (c) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 2005 states that a person is qualified to be a member of parliament if he/she has completed a minimum formal education of advanced level or its equivalent.
“I address you in my capacity as a civically active Uganda well aware of your constitutional duty as elaborated under Article 61(1)(d) of the Constitution to organize, conduct and supervise elections and referenda in Uganda and you indeed held a bye-election in Kyadondo East bye-election where Robert Kyagulanyi participated as a candidate and declared winner and now a sitting Member of Parliament,”Mabirizi says.
“Bobi Wine’s academic details available at the parliament website indicate that he was born in 1982 and sat A-level in 1998. This means that if he was born in 1982, he sat A-level at 16-years, O-level at 13-years and PLE at 9-years and started his educational journey at 2-years only which is peculiar,” Mabirizi argues.
This, according to Mabirizi creates doubt about his academic credentials and can only be satisfied by looking at the academic documents tendered to EC at the nomination in the 2017 by-election which brought him to parliament.
Mairizi says that before nominating any candidate, they must have availed the Electoral Commission with their academic documents to prove their completed the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education or its equivalent, documents he says should be availed to him.
“The required documents are required to satisfy my doubts that the said Kyagulanyi Robert Ssentamu possesses the said qualifications given that as per his details, available at the parliamentary website, he was born in 1982 and sat A- level in 1998. The peculiarity about this is that if the birth year is true, he sat A-level at 16 years, O-level at 13 years PLE at nine years and joined primary one at two years,” Mabirizi argues in his petition.
Robert Kyagulanyi has in the past been accused of illegally changing the National Unity, Reconciliation and Development Party(NURP) into the National Unity Platform and later assuming its leadership.
The latest move by lawyer Mabirizi risks to be seen and categorised by many, especially Kyagulanyi’s fanatics as meant to curtail his fast rising political career, especially his 2021 presidential bid.
Mabirizi was born in 1987 to Mohammed Mutumba and the late Mastula Ndwaddewazibwa in Mukono district.
He possesses a bachelor’s degree in law from Makerere University. He sat his A-level from Kawempe Muslim Secondary School and topped his year.
A Muganda from the Kkobe (yam) clan, Mabirizi became famous when he dragged his own King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II to court for what he described an illegal collection of land fees known as Busulu.
The matter is now pending decision at the Supreme Court, the highest court on the land.
He was also among the team which challenged the amendment of the presidential Age limit clauses (102b) in the Constitution
Article 102 (b) of the constitution prevented anyone above 75 years from standing for president.
The matter is pending judgment at the East African Court of Justice based in Arusha -Tanzania.
Mabirizi is also said to have dragged his own father to court for failure to clear a loan which he had advanced to him.