The High Court in Masaka has dismissed a case in which the Lwemiyaga Member of Parliament, Theodore Ssekikubo, was accused with disrupting the Sembabule district youth elections in 2006.
In April 2006 Ssekikubo was arrested for allegedly tampering with ballot papers, intimidating voters with a gun, and assaulting a police officer during the youth elections. He was released a few days later on the Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura, but shortly thereafter was sued by the Electoral Commission.
The Electoral Commission claimed that Ssekikubo committed his crime at the Sembabule Parents School Polling Station in Mateete Sub County. It said he grabbed a ballot box during the polling process and tore the ballot papers, leading to the cancellation of elections.
The Electoral Commission wanted the MP to pay 66.6 million shillings for damages incurred during the elections.
However the Masaka High Court judge, Justice Kibuuka Musoke, ruled that the Electoral Commission had failed to prove its case. He said the commission had not produced credible witnesses and the testimony given did not satisfy the court that the Member of Parliament was involved in any election fraud.
Justice Kibuuka Musoke also dismissed the commission's appeal to declare Ssekikubo unfit to serve in Parliament for his alleged misconduct. He ordered the Electoral Commission to meet all the costs of the suit.
Shortly after his arrest in 2006, Ssekikubo dismissed the Electoral Commission's charges. He accused it of turning into a
