So many have been asking what exactly triggered the withdrawal of Mr Kyagulanyi’s petition withdrawal.
Section 61 of the Presidential Elections Act demands that for one to withdrawal a presidential poll petition, all parties involved have to swear affidavits stating how they did not engage in any form of corruption as a trigger to the withdrawal.
The respondents stated that Mr Kyagulanyi was not corruptly influenced by any of them in exchange for withdrawing his petition.
“I know that the 3rd respondent (AG), has not executed any agreement or terms of any kind with the applicant/petitioner (Mr Kyagulanyi) regarding the proposed withdrawal of the presidential election petition,” the Deputy Attorney General, Mr Jackson Kafuuzi stated
“The 2nd respondent has prepared, filed and served 79 affidavits in reply to the petitioner’s affidavits,” he adds.
Mr Museveni in his affidavit affidavit sworn in by Mr Oscar Kihika, the director of legal affairs at the NRM secretariat, said there was no kind of agreement to have the petition withdrawn.
Mr Museveni also accuses Mr Kyagulanyi of exhibiting disrespectful conduct to the Supreme Court.
He contends that Mr Kyagulanyi made false claims that the withdrawal of the petition was based on refusal of the judges to disqualify themselves from the case, among other desparaging remarks.
“I know that the applicant conducted himself with total lack of decoram and with contempt of this court when he participated in an interview that I listened to on BBC World Service radio, where the applicant stated to the international audience that his motive for going to court was to expose lack of independence and bias of this court and he was now taking the matter to the court of public opinion,” reads the sworn statement.
With the filing in of the responses by the three respondents, the court is now left with the gazetting of Mr Kyagulanyi’s withdraw application in the government Gazette before the nine justices can reconvene to hear his application.
Mr Kyagulanyi had in his application to withdrawal the petition last week listed several reasons as to why he has taken that path.
They included court rejecting amendment to his petition and arrest of his key witnesses.
