In a significant ruling, the Court of Appeal has ordered Hon. Polycarp Ogwari to step down from his position as Member of Parliament for Agule County immediately. The panel of three justices, including Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, Eva Luswata, and Oscar Kihika, also declared David Ochwa as the rightful winner of the Agule County seat, effective immediately from the date of the judgment.
Furthermore, Hon. Ogwari has been instructed to cover the costs incurred by both the lower court and the Court of Appeal.
The justices supported Ochwa's argument, asserting that Ogwari's nomination was illegal due to his possession of only a certificate in electrical installation, which he obtained after completing Senior Four at the time of his nomination.
"The 1st Respondent (Ogwari) claims to possess a certificate of equivalence. However, the Second Respondent contends that he lacked the qualifications necessary for nomination," the justices explained.
An examination of the documents submitted revealed an O-Level certificate and verification of results for Parts II and III in electrical installation craft courses taken at Uganda Technical College, Elgon. The failure to present the certificate of equivalence was deemed fatal, rendering the nomination invalid, the ruling emphasized.
The justices stressed that only the National Council for Higher Education has the authority to equate qualifications and issue a Certificate of Equivalence, which must be submitted at the time of nomination.
"It is the finding of this court that the failure to submit the Certificate of Equivalence was fatal and rendered the nomination invalid," the justices concluded.
The election petition stemmed from the 2021 general election, during which Ogwari, an independent NRM-leaning candidate, was declared the winner of the Agule MP seat with 7,190 votes, while Ochwa came in second with 6,908 votes.
In his appeal, Ogwari challenged the High Court Judge's decision, alleging errors in law and fact, particularly the failure to address and resolve the legal matters raised, which led to the dismissal of his plea to be declared the winner of the election.
WHO IS HON. OGWARI
AGULE COUNTY MP Pallisa Ogwari is an electrical engineer, who was recently elected MP for Agule County as the former occupant of that position Francis Mukula, preferred to cross to Gogonyo County. He is the proprietor and managing director of Mectron Technical company. Ogwari worked in a number of companies as an electrical engineer, such as Alston,a Swedish company that worked on Nalubaale power dam, Thunderbolt Technical Services, Kelton Development Services and Neck International.
