The Court of Appeal is on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, set to deliver a ruling in the case in which Moses Okia Attan is challenging the election of Herbert Ariko Okworo as the Soroti East Member of Parliament (MP).

The verdict will be delivered by Justices Frederick Egonda-Ntende, Irene Mulyagonja and Eva Luswata.

Forum for Democratic Change’s (FDC) Attan was elected the area MP in the 2021 general elections but was later thrown out of Parliament by the High Court and the Court of Appeal on grounds that the elections were conducted within unspecified boundaries.

Subsequently, a byelection was conducted, which saw the National Resistance Movement’s Ariko declared the winner.

Ariko garnered 9,407 votes against Attan’s 8,771 votes. The Uganda Peoples’ Congress candidate, Pascal Amuriat, got 115 votes.

The Soroti district returning officer Christine Eyuu declared Ariko as the winner of the poll at 10:00 pm. Soroti East Constituency has 63 polling stations spread over 13 wards.

This prompted Attan to sue the returning officer Eyuu, Electoral Commission and Ariko in Soroti High Court, citing voting illegalities and irregularities marred with the detention of his party agents.

According to the Court of Appeal registrar, a notice has already been served to the lawyers representing regarding the impending verdict.

“Take notice that the delivering of the judgement in this case has been fixed for March 19, 2024, at 9:00 am,” the notice reads in parts.

The notice adds that “If no appearance is made on your behalf, by yourself /our pleader or someone authorised by law to act for you, the judgement will be delivered in your absence.”