The High Court in Tororo has upheld the election of Shyam Jay Tanna as Member of Parliament for Tororo Municipality, dismissing a petition filed by his rival, Apollo Yeri Ofwono, over allegations of bribery, illegal campaign donations, violence and electoral irregularities.
Ofwono, who contested on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, had challenged the results of the January 15 parliamentary election, in which the Electoral Commission declared Tanna the winner with 5,781 votes against his 4,829, winning with a margin of 952 votes.
In his petition, Ofwono accused Tanna and people allegedly acting on his behalf of distributing money, food packages and other benefits to influence voters during the campaign period. He specifically cited the distribution of campaign-branded packages containing household items and 10,000 Shillings at Agururu B1, a one million Shillings contribution at the burial of Owino Stephen in Mudakori Village, and alleged donations of 150,000 Shillings and plastic chairs to Nyangole Church.
He also accused Tanna of giving two million Shillings to Agururu B Parish Community Group and distributing 20,000 Shillings as transport facilitation at a campaign gathering. Ofwono further alleged that Tanna campaigned beyond the authorised hours and that his supporters engaged in violence and intimidation, particularly during a confrontation at Chamwinula polling location on election day.
In a judgment delivered today, Friday, October 30, 2026, Justice Rosemary N. Bareebe ruled that Ofwono had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Tanna personally committed electoral offences or authorised other people to engage in misconduct on his behalf. The judge also found that the petitioner had not established that the Electoral Commission failed to conduct the election in accordance with the law or that any irregularities substantially affected the outcome.
However, Justice Bareebe found that although some of the incidents occurred, the evidence did not establish the necessary connection between the alleged misconduct and Tanna.
On the distribution of Christmas packages, the judge acknowledged that campaign-branded bags had been distributed to women but found that the people responsible had not been reliably identified or linked to Tanna because there was no independent evidence establishing the identities of the distributors or proving that they had acted with Tanna’s knowledge, approval or consent.
The judge held that campaign branding alone could not establish that the people distributing the packages were acting on the candidate’s instructions.
On the one million Shillings contribution at the Mudakori burial, Tanna admitted making the payment but maintained that it was a customary contribution to a bereaved family. The court found that Tanna had also made political remarks at the funeral, discussing community concerns and asking for support.
However, Justice Bareebe observed that the video recording showed Tanna discussing the relationship between his father and the deceased, addressing community concerns and requesting political support, while also referring to contributions made towards the funeral and the church.
The court concluded that although political campaigning took place alongside the funeral contribution, there was no sufficient evidence that the 1 million shillings was given to voters to influence their electoral choices.
On the alleged donations to Nyangole Church, the judge found that the evidence was insufficient to establish that Tanna had provided the money or supplied the plastic chairs. Although some witnesses testified that the donations had been made, their accounts were disputed by other church members.
Similarly, the alleged two million Shillings payment to Agururu B Parish Community Group was not proved. The judge noted that the petitioner had failed to produce convincing financial records, bank deposit slips, meeting minutes or an acknowledgement from an authorised official of the group to confirm that the money had been received.
The judge also rejected allegations that Tanna campaigned beyond the authorised hours and that his agents distributed 20,000 Shillings as transport facilitation. She found that the petitioner had not established the precise time of the alleged campaign gathering, identified the people who distributed the money or proved that the recipients were voters.
On the question of whether the alleged irregularities affected the election outcome, the court found that Ofwono had not demonstrated how any of the incidents could have altered the declared results.
Justice Bareebe noted that Tanna defeated Ofwono by 952 votes, but the petitioner did not provide evidence showing how many voters had been prevented from voting or how many votes had been improperly influenced. She observed that even if the alleged irregularities were considered collectively, there was no evidence of widespread violence, systematic intimidation, voter disenfranchisement, interference with ballot materials or falsification of results.
In dismissing the petition, Justice Bareebe acknowledged that Tanna and some of his witnesses had been evasive when responding to questions about certain incidents. However, she held that weaknesses in the respondents’ explanations could not substitute for evidence that the petitioner was required to present.
She consequently dismissed the petition, upheld Tanna’s election as the directly elected MP for Tororo Municipality and ordered Ofwono to pay legal costs for both Tanna and the Electoral Commission, subject to taxation.