Cartoon By Chris Ogon
On Monday, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine startled the nation when he announced that he has instructed his lawyers to withdraw his petition challenging President Yoweri Museveni’s sixth term win he earned last month.
Although there had been rumors that he would withdraw the petition, his final decision to call it quits has left many shocked.
“We are withdrawing from the courts but we are not opting for violence. We are withdrawing the case from Mr Owiny Dollo’s court,” Bobi Wine said justifying his decision for the action.
Bobi’s decision means his team of lawyers will now file a formal application seeking to withdraw the petition from the Supreme Court.
Last week, Bobi Wine threatened to withdraw the petition if judges continued to reject his attempts to give more evidence. The lawyers have remined him of the costs. The decision is clearly going to be celebrated and bemoaned by both sides.
Bobi Wine has clashed with the Judiciary, forcing it to even issue a statement denying reports that it’s top leadership held a secret meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.
WINNERS
PRESIDENT MUSEVENI
The decision to withdraw paves the way for President Museveni to have a smooth ride to his inauguration in May.
Moments after his announcement, the NRM tweeted, “Robert Kyagulanyi has withdrawn the election petition. Our President @KagutaMuseveni‘s victory is now unchallenged.”
Museveni won the election with almost 59% of the vote, with Bobi Wine trailing with about 35%, the Electoral Commission announced.
While addressing the nation a fortnight ago, a confident Museveni advised Ugandans to get back to work since the election was over.
NRM LAWYERS
Before withdrawing the petition, Lawyers representing the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party warned Bobi Wine against any saying it will be costly for him.
According to the head of the NRM legal team Oscar Kihika, if Bobi Wine withdraws the case, the court must be convinced to accept his request even though it’s his right to do so. Kihika made the remarks during the party’s weekly press briefing at their party headquarters at Nakasero.
While filing their defense, the lawyers asked the Supreme Court to throw out the petition with costs meaning they are set to get rich without any ounce court ‘higa hagas.’
NRM PARTY
Bobi Wine’s decision to withdraw the petition is a victory for the ruling NRM party and now paves the way for it’s supporters to carry on without having any worry about court.
LOSERS
BOBI WINE
The decision means Bobi Wine who once chided former Presidential Candidate Kizza Besigye for not trusting the courts of law to challenge Museveni, will not have the same privilege he hoped for.
In 2019, Bobi said Besigye was wrong not to believe in the legal options of challenging Museveni arguing that in a democracy, courts should function.
Besigye has twice challenged President Museveni’s electoral victory in the Supreme Court in 2001 and 2006. On each occasion, the Supreme Court judges unanimously confirmed there had been mass irregularities but on a split majority ruling, declined to nullify the election on account that the vote had not been stolen enough to warrant annulment of Mr Museveni’s victory.
BOBI WINE LAWYERS
Before Bobi Wine withdrew the petition, his legal team had been accused of failing to produce tangible evidence in the case.
NUP
The National Unity Platform (NUP) party that Bobi heads is set to hemorrhage it’s slim pockets since the petition is likely to incur costs as demanded by Museveni’s lawyers.
NUP supporters who had high support in Bobi Wine’s ‘roba dob’ style are going to find it had to come to terms with the decision as there is no any other option left in mission ‘we are removing a dictator.’