Peter Sematimba

Busiro south elected Member of Parliament Peter Sematimba  of the ruling NRM party has been thrown out of Parliament for lack of academic qualifications, by the high court. One of Sematimba’s political rivals in the February elections Steven Ssekigozi  of the opposition  Democratic Party-DP, dragged him  to the courts of law challenging his papers. In his  petition  Sekigozi asked court to  nullify Sematimba’s  election on grounds that he only possessed  a
certificate issued by the East African Examination council in 1978 which can not be equated to Advanced level certificate which is the minimum requirement for one to contest for a parliamentary seat.

Sematimba however told court that his papers were cleared by the National Council of Higher Education which issued him a Certificate of Equivalence that he presented to Electoral Commission during parliamentary nominations.

But High Court Judge Lydia Mugambe last week ruled that the NCHE wrongly issued Sematimba with the certificate adding that his candidacy was therefore illegal. The court has now ordered fresh elections for Bisiro South.

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