The High Court has dismissed a petition by Kiyaga Hillary Innocent aka Dr Hilda Man challenging the election of former minister Ameria Kyambadde as the Mawokota North Member of Parliament, after finding that his application for discovery of electoral documents was too broad and ambiguous.
Kiyaga had dragged the Electoral Commission to court seeking an order compelling the commission to produce certified true copies of the official report book, list of presiding officers and accountability forms for ballot papers used at polling stations during the election.
He also sought the original declaration of results forms attached to the official report book used at polling stations in the various parishes, as well as the original declaration of results forms sealed in ballot boxes used at polling stations in the parishes and wards of Kamengo.
The Electoral Commission opposed the application, arguing that it was not specific about the documents and polling stations being sought.
The commission argued that Mawokota North constituency covers a large area and that Kiyaga’s omnibus request for documents without specifying the particular polling stations amounted to a fishing expedition.
Justice Jamson Karemani agreed with the Electoral Commission, observing that an application for discovery must be specific, establish materiality and precisely state what is being sought.
“An application for discovery must be specific, must establish immateriality, and must recite precisely what is wanted. It does not permit general inspection of the adversary’s records,” Justice Karemani observed.
The judge also found that Kiyaga’s request was too broad because it referred to parishes and wards without identifying the specific polling stations where the information was required.
“I also find this request very broad. The applicant’s request is in relation to parishes/wards without specifically stating at which polling stations the said information is being required. It should be stated here that a parish is different from a ward though they are equivalent to each other,” the court observed.
Justice Karemani agreed with the Electoral Commission’s submission that the application was not specific about the official report book, list of presiding officers and accountability forms for the particular polling stations from which Kiyaga sought the documents.
The court further noted that the information requested in Kiyaga’s earlier letters to the Electoral Commission differed from what he sought through the court application.
“In this application the applicant attempted to give details of the information sought but not clearly so as to be understood,” the judge said.
The court said that before an applicant can claim that a request for information was ignored or rejected, the request must clearly state what is being sought and it must be demonstrated that the same information was previously requested and denied.
“If the information sought in the application is different from the one that was sought for before, it cannot be said to have been requested for and was denied. This is apparently the case before me,” the court observed.
Justice Karemani said documents sought through a discovery application must be specified with sufficient particularity and clearly named so that they can be identified.
“It therefore follows that the documents sought from the respondent must be specified in sufficient particularity and the specific documents desired clearly named so that they can be clearly identified,” the court said.
The judge found Kiyaga’s general requests for information relating to the election unreasonable and ambiguous.
“The general requests for all information relating to the election by the applicant in the letters was rather unreasonable and ambiguous,” the court said.
“In conclusion, I find that the applicant has not made out a proper case for the grant of an order of discovery against the respondent. Consequently, this application is dismissed with costs.”
The ruling followed Kiyaga’s attempt to obtain electoral records as part of his challenge to Kyambadde’s election as Mawokota North MP.
