State minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development Persis Namuganza has retained her Bukono County parliamentary seat after the High Court in Iganga dismissed a petition challenging her victory in the January 15, 2026 general election.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, justice Patience Rubagumya ruled that petitioner Emmanuel Maganda Katoko had failed to prove that the alleged electoral offences and irregularities substantially affected the outcome of the election.
The court consequently dismissed the petition, upheld Namuganza’s election and ordered Maganda to pay the costs of the case.
Namuganza, who contested as an independent candidate after losing the NRM primaries, secured 15,696 votes against Maganda’s 14,431, winning by a margin of 1,265 votes. Five other candidates also contested the seat.
Maganda had asked the court to nullify the election, accusing the Electoral Commission (EC) of failing to properly manage the electoral process and allowing practices that allegedly favoured the incumbent.
Among his complaints were alleged ballot stuffing, multiple voting, discrepancies in declaration of results forms and unusually high voter turnout figures of 100 per cent at some polling stations. He questioned the figures, arguing that some registered voters had died while others had migrated from the constituency.
He also accused election officials of failing to prevent malpractice and claimed that results declared at some polling stations differed from those captured in official election documents.
Namuganza and the EC rejected the accusations, maintaining that the election had been conducted in accordance with the law.
In assessing the evidence, Justice Rubagumya acknowledged that irregularities had occurred but found that they were not sufficient to warrant nullification of the election.
The court identified mathematical inconsistencies in some Declaration of Results (DR) forms. However, the judge noted that the discrepancies had been addressed during tallying and did not alter the final outcome.
The judgment also established that violence occurred at Namakoko Catholic Church, Gasani SDA Church and Kitaigalwa Mosque polling stations.
Justice Rubagumya faulted the EC for failing to maintain peace and order at the affected polling stations, contrary to its responsibilities under electoral law.
Nevertheless, she concluded that the incidents were not sufficiently significant to invalidate the election.
Maganda also accused Namuganza of voter bribery, alleging that she distributed cash and assorted gifts during the campaign period to influence voters.
The petition cited an alleged payment of Shs 15,000 to individual youth leaders during a meeting at Kibaale Primary School on December 24, 2025. It further alleged that money was distributed to youth Sacco groups at Agape Secondary School on January 7, 2026.
Another allegation concerned women who reportedly visited Namuganza’s residence on January 12, 2026, where they allegedly received kitengye fabric, sugar, hoes and money in an attempt to influence their voting decisions.
However, the judge found that Maganda had not presented sufficient evidence linking Namuganza or her agents to the alleged distribution of money and gifts intended to influence voters.
The court also observed that the evidence did not sufficiently establish that the alleged recipients were registered voters. Consequently, the bribery allegations were not proved.
The court further rejected claims that Namuganza had made false statements about Maganda’s character with the intention of undermining his chances of winning the election.
Justice Rubagumya said the statements cited in the petition had not been properly pleaded and were not supported by sufficient evidence.
Maganda’s claims that his polling agents and supervisors had been unlawfully detained also failed, with the judge finding that the allegations lacked convincing and independent evidence.
In her final determination, justice Rubagumya held that the petitioner had not established any of the grounds under Section 80(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act that would justify setting aside Namuganza’s election.