Retired Judge Prof. George William Kanyeihamba has described Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine’s decision to withdraw the presidential petition he had filed in the Supreme Court as nonsense.

Bobi Wine on Wednesday this week filed an application seeking court’s leave to allow him withdraw the petition he had filed challenging President Yoweri Museveni’s reelection in the January 14^th  presidential election, citing bias and conflict of interest on the side of some Supreme Court judges.

However, Prof. Kanyeihamba is so unhappy with the National Unity Platform (NUP) leader, saying that he advised Bobi Wine not to withdraw the petition and he ignored the advice.

Kanyeihamba, who was speaking during an interview on CBS FM, Friday, said thus; “I didn’t like it at all. He should not have withdrawn the petition. He did a very bad thing.”

Commenting about the Supreme Court rejecting more evidence from Bobi Wine’s lawyers, Kanyeihamba said; “The judges were right to make that decision, because Article 104 of the Constitution gives them the power to do so. That’s nonsense. I have told you Article 104 makes it clear. Even if I was one of the judges I would have rejected the additional evidence too. His lawyers should have advised him accordingly.”

When asked about the conditions surrounding the petition and the political persecution that  Bobi Wine and his supporters have been subjected to ever since he filed the petition, Kanyeihamba said “I told him not to withdraw the petition without consulting me. You cannot make up your own court or say I don’t want  judge so and so to handle my case. That can never happen. Because it means that if you decide who should handle your case or withdraw it, it means you’re biased too. Do you know that I’m a constitutional lawyer? I voted for Kyagulanyi, he knows it that he’s my good friend.  But I told him not to withdraw the petition and he went ahead to do so!”

Probed about the fact that it’s Kyagulanyi’s constitutional right to withdraw any case he has filed, Kanyeihamba insisted that whatever the matter might, what Bobi Wine did was very bad.

“What he did was so, so bad. I wanted him to come  to me I give him advice on how  to win  the petition,” the retired Judge said.

Asked to comment about the political persecution that Kyagukanyi and his supporters are facing and the alleged bias on the side of Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo, Kanyeihamba  said that; “Excuse me! That’s nonsense! You mean I had not thought about all that before? But court  has not been given time to think about that. The Electoral Commission was not in charge. It was the police in control all throughout. But you can only say that in court.”

He added; “You should let the courts speak. Not you to decide that court is biased; who are you?   For me I totally have no problem with the Chief Justice. He recently told us that he is not biased,  who are you to disagree with him? Why are you becoming a judge to judge judges on the panel.”

When Kanyeihamba was asked about allegations of Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo holding a private meeting with President Museveni in lieu of Bobi Wine’s petition, the retired judge trashed the allegations, noting that it is tantamount to judging someone without giving them a fair hearing.

“You can’t hang a judge without hearing him first. Who are you? Are you God? People don’t think about what they are doing. Do you how many times we met the President during the 2011 petition? Did you people want the Chief Justice to ignore the President when he calls him to talk to him? And when the president calls you to discuss matters which he wants, do you just jump out? Ask yourself; what did the Chief Justice promise Museveni? Nothing! There is no law in the Constitution which says that when there is a petition, the President is not allowed to talk to those involved. No way. This is a man who gave us an indication of his independence. Recently he said that we made a mistake as Ugandans to remove term limits; is that man a puppet to the President? No! In my opinion many of those judges were going to support Kyagulanyi. You don’t know how courts work. You don’t know how judges work. Nonsense!”

By Grapevine Reporter