During the court proceedings, Magistrate Tibenkana directed Tezikoma to surrender the stamp, reminding him that it was government property.
BY YAZID YOLISIGIRA
The Iganga Magistrate’s Court has remanded a former Local Council One (LC1) chairperson of Bukaye Village in Nakalama Sub-county for allegedly refusing to hand over a village stamp after losing the recent election.
The accused, Tezikoma Saidhi, appeared before Magistrate Tibenkana Ali on Thursday, where he was accused of unlawfully withholding the village stamp, which is a government property and should be handed over to the relevant authorities after a change of leadership.
Tezikoma, who was arrested two days ago, is alleged to have repeatedly refused to surrender the stamp to the Nakalama Sub-county Chief and the Iganga Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), despite being required to do so.
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Court heard that Tezikoma disputed the outcome of the LC1 election, arguing that the exercise was neither free nor fair. He also rejected the victory of his rival, Musumba Eria, who was declared the winner.
During the court proceedings, Magistrate Tibenkana directed Tezikoma to surrender the stamp, reminding him that it was government property.
However, Tezikoma asked for more time, claiming that the stamp was being kept by a friend whom he needed to trace before he could hand it over.
The magistrate subsequently remanded him to Iganga Prison until October 12, when he is expected to return to court and produce the village stamp.
The case highlights the requirement for outgoing local council leaders to hand over government property and official documents to the relevant authorities after leaving office.