The Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala has dismissed an election petition challenging the election of five Workers’ Representatives to Parliament for the 2026–2031 term, citing failure to properly serve some respondents and the petitioner’s lack of legal standing to institute the case.
Justice Allan Paul Nshimye has dismissed Election Petition number HCT-00-CV-EP-0013-2026, which sought to nullify the March 2, 2026 election results declaring Nakku Fiona, Birungi Annet, Rwabushaija Namubiru Margret, Arinaitwe Rwakajara and Agaba Gilbert as Workers’ Members of Parliament.
The court has also awarded costs to the respondents thereby bringing the petition to an end without a full hearing of the substantive allegations challenging the electoral process.
The petitioner, Michael Kamba Bhamusangala, had sought 18 orders, arguing that the elections were marred by alleged illegalities and non-compliance with electoral laws, including the alleged absence of a national voters’ register for workers.
He also challenged the validation of nomination papers for 26 candidates, contending that the Electoral Commission had failed to declare the nominations invalid despite the alleged non-existence of the Workers’ National Voters Register.
However, through their lawyers including Jude Byamukama and Derrick Bazekuketta for Nakku the respondents raised preliminary objections questioning whether the petition had been properly served, whether the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the complaints and whether the petitioner had the legal right to challenge the election.
On service, Justice Nshimye has found that the petitioner had failed to comply with the statutory requirements for serving the election petition on the respondents. Under Section 81 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, a petitioner is required to serve written notice of the presentation of the petition, accompanied by a copy of the petition, within seven days after filing it.
The law also requires personal service, except where alternative service is authorised by court under the applicable rules.
The judge has found that the petitioner’s process server admitted failing to serve Nakku, the first respondent, and that no application had been made seeking authorisation for alternative service.
The court has consequently upheld the objection and dismissed the petition against Nakku.
Regarding Birungi Annet, Rwabushaija Namubiru Margret and Arinaitwe Rwakajara, the petitioner relied on service through WhatsApp.
However, the judge has found that the affidavit of service showed only double grey ticks on the messages, which did not establish that the documents had been read. The process server had also failed to provide sufficient proof linking the telephone numbers used to the respective respondents.
The court therefore found that effective service had not been established against the three respondents and dismissed the petition against them as well.
The judge noted that electronic service may be accepted in appropriate circumstances, citing previous Court of Appeal decisions, but emphasised the need for evidence demonstrating that the intended recipient had become aware of the proceedings.
The objections relating to service were not upheld in respect of Agaba Gilbert and the Electoral Commission, which the court found had been served.
On jurisdiction, Justice Nshimye explained that the Electoral Commission has original jurisdiction to handle complaints arising before and during polling, while the High Court has jurisdiction to determine petitions challenging declared parliamentary election results under Sections 79 and 80 of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
The judge found that some of Bhamusangala’s complaints concerned nomination and other pre-election matters that should ordinarily have been presented to the Electoral Commission. Only grounds two and three of the 18 grounds raised in the petition, relating to alleged non-compliance with electoral laws, could potentially be considered by the High Court if supported by evidence.
The court therefore partly upheld the jurisdictional objection, finding that several grounds were not sustainable in an election petition before the High Court.
Another decisive issue, however, was whether Bhamusangala had the legal right, or locus standi, to file the petition. Section 79(2) of the Parliamentary Elections Act provides that a parliamentary election petition may be filed by a candidate who lost the election or a registered voter in the relevant constituency supported by at least 500 registered voters, in accordance with the law.
The judge found that Bhamusangala had described himself as a self-employed worker and custodian of workers’ rights but had not demonstrated that he was a candidate in the election or presented the required signatures of at least 500 registered voters.
Consequently, the court has held that he had not established the legal right to challenge the election.
Justice Nshimye has explained that the legal standing is a fundamental requirement that must be satisfied before a court can proceed to determine the merits of a case.
The judge further criticised the petitioner for filing the election petition without meeting the statutory requirements, noting that he had previously pursued a related application concerning the Workers’ National Voters Register. In that earlier case, Kamba Michael Bhamusangala v Alex Asiimwe and Others, the High Court Judge Isaac Bonny Teko had found that the Electoral Commission had not fulfilled its legal obligation regarding the register but declined to block the nomination exercise. The court instead awarded the applicant 50 million shillings in damages and costs in that case which Judge Nshimye has also alluded to.
Nshimye has thus dismissed the election petition with costs to the respondents and declared two applications seeking to strike out the petition overtaken by events.
Nakku is one of the politicians in this country who has fought serious legal battles to enter Parliament of Uganda by all means.
She had previously stood as one of the potential candidates for National Female Youth MP before she was disqualified by the High Court on grounds of being too old to be a youth within the National Youth Council Act requirements.
Nakku then redirected her ambitions to contest as a Workers MP, a position she won which has also been confirmed by the High Court today.