Settle Case, Court Tells Kutesa, Otika

By Edith Kimuli COURT has given investment minister Sam Kutesa and former Col. Kiiza Besigye’s task force co-ordinator Louis Otika four months to settle a campaign case. Justice Moses Mukiibi told the parties to report back to court in January. Kuteesa is suing Otika for defamation reportedly contained in a letter dated February 8, 2001 which he wrote to the Electoral Commission during the election campaigns. In the letter, Otika named Kutesa, former MP Sam Rwakoojo and former Railways chief Enos Tumusiime as people who were behind Lithotec, a South African company awarded the contract of printing ballot papers. In the said letter, Otika asked the EC to cancel the contract because Kuteesa, Rwakoojo and Tumusiime were on President Museveni’s campaign team. It states, “Two of these are well known names in the Uganda Procurement scandals.” “There is no way the EC can exclude the possibility of fraud if Lithotec prints the ballot papers. They may for example print extra ballot papers to be kept by the incumbent’s team for the purpose of rigging the elections,” the letter said. Ends