52 residents of Luwero district have petitioned the Electoral Commission of the National Resistance Movement, challenging the nomination of Ronald Ndawula in the Katikamu North Member of Parliament party primaries.
Ndawula, the former LCV Chairman of Luwero district, was nominated together with Gaddafi Nasur, a member of the NRM Central Executive Committee and Paul Bukenya to contest for the NRM ticket for Katikamu North MP. The tight race is between Ndawula and Nasur.
However, a group led by Joseph Kiyingi Ssentumbwe has petitioned the Electoral Commission of the National Resistance Movement seeking Ndawula’s disqualification from the primaries.
According to the petitioners, the nomination of Ndawula was unlawful since he was declared bankrupt by High Court case cause no.3 of 2020 and confirmed by the Court of Appeal in civil appeal no.259 of 2021, and that by nomination, the case remains undischarged.
Ndawula ran into trouble when, in 2011, he entered into a contract with Hiraa Traders to supply him with five motor vehicles for his engineering firm, which they did, but he failed to pay the agreed amount.
In 2021, Hiraa Traders dragged Ndawula to the Commercial court demanding 223 million, and by the trial was conducted, he had paid only 21 million shs. Ndawula disputed the sum and admitted that he had yet to pay only 143 million shillings.
The Court presided by Judge J. Kainamura entered a judgement on admission of Ndawula and was ordered to pay 143 million shillings with interests and taxes before a decree was issued for bailiffs to recover it from him. The execution failed after Ndawula filed several applications blocking it.
In 2020, Hiraa Traders pursued a bankruptcy ca,se and on 30th November, 2020, Ndawula was adjudged bankrupt and an order was duly issued. Ndawula challenged the order, but the application was dismissed in a ruling delivered on 22nd December 2020.
Ndawula further sought redress from the court of appeal through civil appeal no .259 of 2021, but the appeal was dismissed and the earlier order was maintained.
Now it’s through this judgment that Kiyingi and others say that Ndawula is not qualified to be nominated for the primaries because this is prohibited in Article 80(2)(d) of the Constitution of Uganda.
Kiyingi adds that section 4(2)(d) of the Parliamentary Elections Act also prohibits a person declared bankrupt under the laws and has not been discharged from contesting as a member of parliament.
“Further still, under regulation 39 of the NRM Election Regulations 2025, a person must meet all national qualifications to be eligible for MP primaries, and the nomination of Ndawula was null and void,” Kiyingi said.
Kiyingi and others asked the NRM Electoral Commission to nullify the election of Ndawula because he remains an undischarged bankrupt.
Kiyingi filed the petition at the Secretary of the NRM Electoral Commission on Monday and served copies to Ndawula.
But Ndawula has described the petition as malicious and filled with the intent of removing him to benefit his arch rival, Gaddafi Nasur, to sail through the race with less competition.
Ndawula said that the lead petitioner, Kiyingi, and others are all well-known campaign agents of Nasur.
Ndawula said that through miscellaneous application number 2159 of 2024 filed at the Commercial court arising from civil suit no 0572 of 2013, he successfully challenged the bankruptcy order, and it was put aside on 30th October 2024.
Justice Stephen Mubiru of the High Court (Commercial Division) found that the company had abused the court process when it secured the bankruptcy order, and it was already struck off the register of companies, hence ceased to exist as a legal entity to sue.
“The bankruptcy order cannot remain in abeyance pending the restoration of the respondent (Hiraa Traders) on the register, a process whose duration is indeterminate and outcome speculative at this stage. It is for this and other reasons explained before that the application was allowed and the bankruptcy order was set aside with no order as to costs,” Justice Mubiru ruled.
Ndawula advised his rival to focus on campaigns and win the elections fairly, rather than using tricks to disqualify so that he sails through with less challenge.
Ndawula said, as the court has already ruled, the petitioners backed by his rival are again attempting to use the case in bad faith to disqualify him just as they did in 2020.
Ndawula was disqualified from the Parliamentary race after a judgment was issued in 2020 that he was bankrupt. He was, however, reinstated in the race two days before the 2021 general elections after he appealed it.
Despite the challenge, Ndawula garnered 7006 votes and emerged third in the race, won by NUP Candidate Denes Sekabira, who got 18,716 votes and Gaddafi Nasur (NRM flagbearer) came second with 10,771 votes
When asked about the petition, Gaddafi Nasur said he wasn’t party to it and didn’t know its contents.
Nasur said he is busy with campaigns and has enough support to defeat Ndawula in the primaries.
Tanga Odoi, the Chairperson of the NRM Electoral Commission, is yet to comment on the petition