Wakilii

The Returning Officer Kampala and Anor vs Margaret Zziwa (Civil Appeal No 39 of 1997)

Court of Appeal · [1998] UGCA 2 · 1998 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Consolidated appeals from High Court decision allowing an election petition and nullifying the 3rd appellant's election as Women Parliamentary Representative
Decision
Appeals allowed; nullification of the 3rd appellant's election set aside and the 3rd appellant declared duly elected Women representative for Kampala District

Observed later treatment

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Caution Distinguished in 1 case and citation activity is fading (most recent 12 citing cases skew earlier) — worth re-checking before relying on it. Citations fading — 12 citing cases on record, 3 in the most recent three data years. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal allowed the consolidated appeals against the nullification of the 3rd appellant's election as Kampala District Women Representative. The Court held the appeals were lodged within time under rule 82(2) after excluding time for preparing the record, and that interlocutory rulings could be challenged in the appeal against the final decision. On the merits, the Court held that Statute No. 4 of 1996 envisaged two registers—the national voters' register (s.18) and the Electoral College register (rule 4(1), Third Schedule)—and that the latter need not be vetted against the national register nor require voters' cards. The trial judge misdirected himself. The Court also affirmed that the standard of proof in election petitions is beyond reasonable doubt.

Outcome

Appeals allowed; nullification of the 3rd appellant's election set aside and the 3rd appellant declared duly elected Women representative for Kampala District

Facts

The Interim Electoral Commission organised elections on 20 June 1996 for Women Parliamentary Representatives in all districts. Margaret Zziwa (3rd appellant) and Catherine Naava Nabagesera (respondent) contested the Kampala District Women Representative seat, supervised by the Town Clerk of Kampala as Returning Officer. Zziwa was declared winner, published in the Gazette of 28 June 1996. The respondent filed an election petition challenging the election on grounds of non-compliance with electoral laws, including that the voters' registers were improperly compiled and that voters lacked valid voters' cards. The trial judge (Tabaro, J) found that the Electoral College register should have been incorporated into the national voters' register under section 18 and that voters' cards were a legal requirement. He nullified the election, declared the seat vacant, and awarded costs against the 1st and 2nd appellants. The appellants appealed, contending the Statute envisaged two separate registers and that voters' cards were not required for Women representative elections.

Issues

  1. Whether the appeals were competent and lodged within time.
  2. Whether grounds of appeal relating to interlocutory orders made during the hearing could be included in an appeal against the final decision of the High Court on an election petition.
  3. Whether the election of Women representatives requires a single national voters' register under section 18 or a separate Electoral College register under rule 4(1) of the Third Schedule.
  4. Whether a voters' card was a legal requirement in the election of Women representatives.
  5. What is the standard of proof required to set aside a parliamentary election under section 91 of Statute No. 4 of 1996.

Orders

  • The order of the lower court nullifying the election of the 3rd appellant is set aside.
  • The 3rd appellant was duly elected Women representative for Kampala District.
  • The respondent is to pay the appellants' costs of the appeal here and in the court below.

Rules and key headnotes

Election Appeals — Computation of Time — Exclusion of Time for Preparation of Record of Proceedings
Under rule 82(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules (applied to election petition appeals via rule 36 of S.I. No. 27 of 1996), where an appellant applies in writing within thirty days for a copy of the proceedings, serves the request on the respondent, and retains proof of service, the time certified by the Registrar as taken to prepare and deliver the copy is excluded when computing the time within which to lodge the appeal.
Interlocutory Orders — Right to Challenge on Appeal Against Final Decision
Grounds of appeal relating to interlocutory orders or decisions made in the course of a hearing may be included in an appeal against the final decision, whether or not a separate right of appeal against those interlocutory orders exists, so as to avoid a multiplicity of appeals.
Plain Meaning Rule — Prohibition on Reading Words into a Clear Statute
Where the words of a statute are clear and unambiguous they must be given their ordinary and natural meaning irrespective of the consequences, and a court may not read into an Act words which are not there in the absence of clear necessity.
Women Representative Elections — Electoral College Register vs National Voters' Register
The Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 envisages two distinct registers: the national voters' register under section 18 and the Electoral College register prepared under rule 4(1) of the Third Schedule for the election of women representatives; the Electoral College register need not be vetted against or incorporated into the national voters' register.
Women Representative Elections — Voters' Cards Not a Legal Requirement
Voters' cards issued under section 26 of Statute No. 4 of 1996 apply only to the national voters' register; they are not a legal requirement in the election of women representatives, and the Commission may, under rule 3 of the Third Schedule, devise alternative means of identifying voters.
Election Petitions — Standard of Proof — Beyond Reasonable Doubt
The grounds for setting aside the election of a successful parliamentary candidate under section 91 of Statute No. 4 of 1996 must be proved to the satisfaction of the court, which, given the requirement that non-compliance affect the result in a substantial manner, imports a standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Legislation cited (26)

  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.12
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.18
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.26
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.37
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.58(3)
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.63(1)
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.90
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.91
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 s.96(1)
  • Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Statute No. 4 of 1996 Third Schedule rules 3 and 4
  • Parliamentary Elections (Election Petitions) Rules 1996 (S.I. No. 27 of 1996) r.19
  • Parliamentary Elections (Election Petitions) Rules 1996 (S.I. No. 27 of 1996) r.31
  • Parliamentary Elections (Election Petitions) Rules 1996 (S.I. No. 27 of 1996) r.32
  • Parliamentary Elections (Election Petitions) Rules 1996 (S.I. No. 27 of 1996) r.36
  • Court of Appeal Rules Directions 1996 r.81
  • Court of Appeal Rules Directions 1996 r.82(2)
  • Court of Appeal Rules Directions 1996 r.82(3)
  • Court of Appeal Rules Directions 1996 r.101(b)
  • Civil Procedure Act s.78
  • Civil Procedure Act s.101
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.42
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.16 r.10
  • Judicature Statute No. 13 of 1996 s.12
  • Constitution of Uganda Article 59(1)
  • Constitution of Uganda Article 59(2)
  • Constitution of Uganda Article 78(1)

Cases cited (18)

  • Makula International Ltd vs. His Eminence Cardinal Nsubuga and Another (1982) HCB 11
  • Noble Builders (U) Ltd v Sietco (Civil Appeal No. 31 of 1995)
  • UDB v NIC and Another (Civil Appeal No. 28 of 1995)
  • Margaret Zziwa v Catherine Naava Nabagesera (Civil Appeal No. 34 of 1996)
  • Zziwa v Nabagesera (Miscellaneous Application No. 9 of 1996)
  • Edward Kamana Wesonga v Interim Electoral Commission and 2 Others (Civil Application No. 22 of 1996)
  • Jeninah Ntabgoba v Kwera Stella Ngirabakunzi (Civil Appeal No. 41 of 1997)
  • J. Hannington Wasswa and Others v Maria Ochola and 3 Others (Civil Appeal No. 5 of 1995)
  • Registered Trustees of Kampala Institute v DAPCB (Civil Appeal No. 21 of 1993)
  • Samuel W. Muyonga v Muldi Mutonje (Civil Appeal No. 29 of 1996)
  • Mbowe v Eliufoo [1967] EA 240
  • Bater v Bater [1950] 2 All ER 458
  • Clement Tibarokora v Returning Officer Rukungiri District and Another (Election Petition No. 1 of 1981)
  • Z.C. Ilokol v Returning Officer and William Naburi (Election Petition No. 1 of 1996)
  • Alisemerera Babiiha Jane Vs. Returning Officer Bundibugyo and Hon. Bikorwenda Ida Election Petition No. MFA 1 of 1996
  • Odetto Henry John vs. Okedo O'Max Election Petition No. NP 1 of 1996
  • Adam Vassiliadis v Libyan Arab (U) Bank for Foreign Trade and Development Limited (Civil Appeal No. 10 of 1990)
  • Zaitune Kawuma v George Mwa Lurum (Civil Application No. 3 of 1996)

Cases citing this judgment (12)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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The Returning Officer Kampala and Anor vs Margaret Zziwa (Civil Appeal No 39 of 1997) [1998] UGCA 2 (12 February 1998)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.