Court Strikes Out 97 Affidavits in Rubongoya-Kabanda Election Petition

What the report says

The High Court in Kampala has removed a large set of evidence from the election petition filed by Kampala Central MP-elect Minsa Kabanda’s challenger, David Lewis Rubongoya, narrowing the case he can present against her January 15 parliamentary victory. In a ruling by Justice Flavia Nabakooza, 97 affidavits submitted after the petition was lodged were struck out on the ground that they were filed irregularly and without leave of court, according to the Nile Post report.

The court also threw out Rubongoya’s complaint about 23 polling stations in Nakasero II and Kololo II, finding that the issue should have been raised with the Electoral Commission before the election. Kabanda and the commission had argued that the matter was a pre-election dispute. Justice Nabakooza agreed on that point, while noting that the polling areas were already identified in the voter register before polling day.

However, the judge allowed other parts of the petition to remain, including claims about Kabanda’s nomination, academic qualifications and differences in her names. The court accepted Rubongoya’s argument that he only received certified documents supporting those claims after the election, making it impractical to raise them earlier. The ruling followed consolidated applications filed by Kabanda and the Electoral Commission on October 1, 2026. The petition will now proceed to a scheduling conference before any substantive hearing.