Wakiso Chief Magistrate’s court has issued criminal summons against National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi requiring him to take plea on three offences related to giving false information about his age.
The summonses issued by the chief magistrate Esther Lydia Nakadama Mubiru followed a private prosecution case instituted against Kyagulanyi by Male Mabirizi. According to the summons, Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine is required to appear before court on September 16, 2020.
Last month Mabirizi instituted three criminal charges of giving false information, obtaining registration by false pretence and uttering false documents against Kyagulanyi in Wakiso court. Mabirizi alleges that on May 31, 2017, Kyagulanyi gave false information to the Wakiso district returning officer that he was aged 35. As a result, he was nominated as a candidate for the Kyadondo East parliamentary seat which he won in a by-election that year.
As such, Mabirizi says that if the returning officer had known about it, she would not have nominated Kyagulanyi to contest in the Kyadondo East parliamentary race. It is also alleged that Kyagulanyi furnished the same officer with academic documents indicating that he completed the A’level, the minimum requirement for one to be nominated as a legislator which was not true.
Kyagulanyi is also faulted for having uttered a false document, a Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) letter of verification of results to the returning officer and accordingly obtained registration by false pretence.
Mabirizi’s decision to petition court started after information on the parliament website indicated that Kyagulanyi was born in 1982, completed primary education at nine years, ordinary level at 13 years and advanced level at 16.
This made Mabirizi to doubt whether Kyagulanyi started primary one at the age of just two years. However, Mabirizi later managed to get documents from Uneb which also had discrepancies indicating that he was instead born in 1980, thus petitioning the court.
Mabirizi has since instituted charges of giving false information to the passport officer at ministry of Internal Affairs and clerk to parliament at Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court. But the hearing of the case is still pending.
Kyagulanyi on Monday told journalists that his date of birth was altered by his late father. He offered a lengthy explanation and a chronology of why, how and when the dates were altered.
He said his date of birth was changed to enable him to sit for his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) while he was still in primary six. He also said he later swore an affidavit in court in March 2000 to correct the anomaly.