Former Speaker of Parliament, and First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Alitwaala Kadaga has joined hundreds of supporters of Mbale City Woman MP Connie Galiwango to celebrate her electoral petition victory against rival, Lydia Wanyoto Mutende.
Mrs Galiwango defeated Wanyoto, who is also a member of the NRM Central Executive Committee (NEC) in the January 14 parliamentary elections in the Mbale City Woman MP race.
Ms Wanyoto was however dissatisfied with the highly contested election outcome, hence opting to seek redress from courts of law.
Court in Mbale on Thursday however, ruled to maintain Galiwango’s win, sighting lack of sufficient evidence to call for nullification as sought by the petitioner.
Wanyoto was also slapped with costs in legal fees to her rival.
Upon hearing the news from Mbale City, thousands of congratulatory messages started flying in for Galiwango as Wanyoto and company went into a melt down.
Prominent among the Galiwango celebrants is Kamuli Woman MP Rebecca Kadaga, who described it as victory for the people of Mbale who had unequivocally chosen Galiwango as their MP.
“Congratulations Hon. Connie Galiwango, the choice of Mbale City on winning the election petition. The people spoke clearly and unequivocally on the 14th January 2021.” Kadaga reacted in a tweet, shortly after the news.
At the height of the rivalry between Kadaga and Jacob Oulanyah for the position of Speaker of Parliament late last year, and June this year, Mbale became a fierce battleground as Galiwango and Wanyoto took sides.
Galiwango, right from the time Kadaga was fighting to retain her seat at NEC last year, was a formidable ally, whereas Wanyoto openly opposed the former Speaker of Parliament, in favor of rival, Persis Namuganza.
When the protracted battle for the Speakership neared climax early this year, the two big women in Mbale would again square off, with Galiwango sticking to Kadaga, as Wanyoto pitched camp in the eventual winner, Oulanyah’s camp. For the day, the latter emerged victorious, while for the former and her ally Kadaga it ended tears.
Against the above background thus, Kadaga’s take on the outcome from this particular case has been interpreted as taking up opportunity to get back at the already bruised Wanyoto, to pay back for her disloyalty in August last year and June this year.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
