Army rigged 2006 elections for Museveni-Gen Sejusa

Renegade spymaster, Gen David Sejusa, has confessed that he and other army officers engineered the 2006 presidential election results in favour of the incumbent President Museveni.

 The former army MP and coordinator of intelligence agencies who is believed to be living in UK revealed on Saturday said, Dr. Kizza Besigye won the February 23 vote with (maybe) 69 percent margin but army officers were involved in stealing the election so the incumbent could remain in power.

 “We organised another electoral commission of intelligence at Basiima House and it is our results that we pushed through to the [official] electoral commission. How can you win in that type of situation?”

Speaking at the launch of a new opposition political party “Freedom and Unity Front” at the London School of Economics, Gen Sejusa added, “We need to look afresh at this whole experience of elections.”

The four-star general who fled the country early this year after authoring a letter alleging plot to assassinate top political and military leaders opposed a plan by President Museveni to groom his son Brig Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who commands the elite Special Forces, as his successor, noted: “I must say it all now because [I] am a new man. [Yes we did it].”

 Electoral Commission spokesperson, Jotham Taremwa when contacted called Sejusa’ claims “nonsense.”

“Voting is a public programme that goes through several processes managed by an independent body, so how then does he claim they were in charge,” Mr Talemwa noted, “Let him leave us outside his politics.”

President Museveni was declared winner with 59 percent, Besigye 37 percent, DP’ Ssebana Kizito with 1.58 percent and UPC’ Miria Obote and Independent Abed Bwanika each scored below 1 percent.

“Anytime an African incumbent president is declared the winner by a 50% margin then you know "he’s lost," Gen. Sejusa noted, in reference to President Museveni’ margin.

President Museveni in early October dared Gen Sejusa to go ahead and try using force to overthrow government and the army has also since maintained he will face prosecution for his misdeeds.

Sejusa a spoiler

The executive director of government’ communication clearing house Media Centre, Ofwono Opondo referred to Gen Sejusa as a “spoiler.”

 “I don’t want to comment on anything related to Sejusa. He is riffraff trying to seek relevance,” Mr. Opondo remarked by telephone.

Dr Besigye, a three times presidential election runner-up and former head of the largest opposition party, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), disputed the 2006 electoral results and went to the Supreme Court seeking the nullification of the polls.

He contended the electoral process was marred by irregularities, voter intimidation and rigging, and an unverifiable voter’s register. It was also the second time Besigye challenged results after 2001.

The bench comprising of judges; (late) Joseph Mulenga, Alfred Karokora, (late) Arthur Oder, George Kanyeihamba, Wilson Tsekooko, Bart Katureebe and ‘former’ Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki, after several days of submissions characterised by tension concluded there had been non-compliance with the provisions of the Constitution, Electoral Commission’s Act and Presidential Elections Act in the conduct of the election which disenfranchised the voters.

The judges in a majority decision of 4:3 also concurred that “In counting and tallying of results, the principle of free and fair elections was compromised by bribery and intimidation or violence,” but, “the failure to comply with the provisions and principles as found was not proved to have affected the results in a substantial manner.”

Side bar

In the April 6 2006 summary verdict Justice Odoki did not give detailed reasons for Court’ ruling but Justice Kanyeihamba, revealed later that at a pre-judgment conference of the justices on April 5, 2006 the verdict on consensus was different from what was later delivered the next that day, and his colleagues erred in upholding President’ Museveni’ election even when they conceded that there were massive electoral irregularities.