The High Court in Mbarara has on Thursday February 28, dismissed an election petition against Sheema Municipality Member of Parliament Dr Elioda Tumwesigye.
Following his July 2018 by election victory, Tumwesigye, also Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, was dragged to court by Forum For Democratic Change (FDC) candidate Virginia Plan Mugyenyi who alleged that the process was marred by voter bribery, voter intimidation, failure by the electoral commission to organise the election in a free and fair manner.
In his ruling, Judge Andrew Bashaija said the petitioner failed to prove all the allegations she made against the accused.
“The few instances of error, omissions and lapses in the conduct of the election as a whole by the second respondent (electoral Commission) could not affect the results of the election in a substantial manner,” stated Justice Bashaija before dismissing the case with costs.
But who is Elioda Tumwesigye?
Tumwesigye was born in Sheema District on 5 April 1964 to Yekonia Kasyamutwe and Esteeri Kasyamutwe.
He was their second child. He attended Ntare School for his O-Level and A-level studies.
During his A-level, Tumwesigye was elected Head Boy and in 1984 he was the third best performing student in UACE in the whole country .
He obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from Makerere University in 1990.
While attending Makerere, he started the Sheema University Student’s Association, which was still active up to date.
He was also elected health secretary of University Hall, a men’s hall of residence at Makerere.
In 1997, he obtained a Master of Science in epidemiology from Case Western Reserve University.
From 1990 until 2001, he worked as a medical officer at the Uganda Ministry of Health, serving in the Epidemiology Studies Unit during the last four years.
In 2001, he contested and won the parliamentary seat of Sheema County North, in Sheema District, on the National Resistance Movement political party ticket, a seat he held until last year when he was elected Sheema Municipality MP in a by election.
