Police probes Besigye papers

Feb 08, 2006

THE Police yesterday launched investigations into the petition filed by Bugabula North MP Moses Kizige, over the academic qualifications of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye.

By Steven Candia

THE Police yesterday launched investigations into the petition filed by Bugabula North MP Moses Kizige, over the academic qualifications of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye.

In the petition to the Electoral Commission (EC), Kizige asked the EC to disqualify Besigye from the presidential race on the grounds that he used another person’s P.7 results to join secondary school.
The police electoral offences squad took over the matter on Tuesday after the EC forwarded it for investigation.

Yesterday sources said a team from the squad at the CID headquarters went to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) offices in Ntinda, to verify the claims.

The team that left CID headquarters in the morning spent most of the day at UNEB talking to officials and poring over academic files that span close to 40 years.

Efforts to get comment from Okoth Ochola, the deputy director CID and Lemmy Twinomugisha, the head of the squad were futile.

But sources said even before the EC forwarded the matter, the squad had opened a general inquiries file. At the end of investigations the Police will submit the findings to the EC for action, sources said.

Kizige asked for an investigation into why Besigye changed the name he used in 1967, Smith W. Besigye, to Kizza Besigye W. S.
Kizige said Besigye used Warren Kizza’s P.7 results to join secondary school, adding that Besigye sat primary leaving examinations at Mbarara Boys Primary School in 1967 as Smith W. Besigye and scored 113 marks.

In 1968, Kizige claimed, a Warren Kiiza sat for primary leaving examinations at Kinyasaano primary school, which Besigye had attended up to primary six, before relocating to Mbarara Boys.

Besigye’s former schoolmate, whose marks Kizige claims Besigye used to join Kitante Hill Secondary School, identified himself as Stanley Kiiza and not Warren Kizza. He said he was in P5 in Kinyasaano Primary School in 1965 when he dropped out.

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