KAMPALA – The political tormentor for Peter Sematimba (Busiro South) is now crying foul saying the costs of the suit, the court is slated to slap on him are exorbitant and is pleading with his victim to forgive him for inspiring him to go back to school.
However, Sematimba rejected the pleas saying Stephen Sekigozi Musisi threw eggs in his face when he accused him of having no requisite academic documents to contest as Member of Parliament and it was about time, he paid him in the same legal currency.
The bickering between the duo was revealed after the meeting at parliament that Sekigozi used to plead with Sematimba to let him not pay close to Shs120 million as cost in a case where Sekigozi was dissatisfied with the decision of the court that was seeking to nullify Sematimba’s election on the basis that he had presented fraudulent academic documents.
After the meeting, Sekigozi told journalists that his request was rejected even when he inspired Sematimba to go back to school and attain the required academic standard.
Sekigozi said, “I told him that since he is a Christian, I shouldn’t be paying costs yet in actual sense, he didn’t go to school. My engagement with him was to remind him that all along, I have been on the right side of the law that in actual sense, he didn’t have the requisite academic papers but Peter Ssematimba failed to forgive me, he says he wants his Shs120M I said I am not paying him since he has just gotten the books. I am ready for you for round two and this time around, I am winning you.”
However, Sematimba said that although he was forced to return to school by Sekigozi, he cannot withdraw his demand for court costs against his political rival, adding that the public excitement over his return to school is an encouragement for people to continue pursuing their dreams.
“He congratulated me and thanked him for giving me the incentive to go back to school, he is the reason I went to court in the first place. He did suggest I find a way of forgiving him the court costs that court is going to award sometime this month, I said no, my brother honestly speaking I am not going to do that. You took me to court openly, publicly and legally and I want it to end openly, publicly in court legally,” said Sematimba.
In a related development, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga led MPs in congratulating for passing the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations, “We congratulate him for passing that hurdle that has been giving him a lot of discomforts especially with his foreign qualifications.”
Sematimba sat for his Advanced Level examinations in 2019 at Kakoola High School in Ziroobwe sub-county, Luweero district and studied Divinity, Literature, Fine Art and a subsidiary of Computer.
It should be recalled that Sematimba lost his parliamentary seat in 2016 after Democratic Party candidate Sekigozi dragged him to court over academic papers.
However, Sematimba, through his lawyers, appealed the ruling and in 2017. The Court of Appeal upheld his election, saying there was nothing wrong with his academic papers.