Court Upholds Najjuma’s Election as Nakaseke Woman MP Despite Irregularities

What the report says

The High Court in Luweero has upheld Sarah Najjuma’s election as Nakaseke District Woman Member of Parliament, dismissing a petition brought by her National Unity Platform rival, Esther Nakawooya. In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, Justice Vincent Emmy Mugabo said the January 15 parliamentary vote contained irregularities, but Nakawooya did not show that they were serious enough to change the result.

According to Nile Post, the petition accused the election of several problems, including missing or altered results, ballot stuffing, pre-ticked ballots, multiple voting, impersonation, and interference with polling agents and election materials. The court found that the Electoral Commission had not tallied results from four polling stations and identified issues at others, including understated votes for Nakawooya at one station and unexplained changes in a declaration form at another. The judge also noted inconsistencies in ballot accounting and voter records.

Even with those findings, the court held that Najjuma’s lead was too large to be overturned. The judgment said that, even if all voters from the disputed stations were counted in Nakawooya’s favor, Najjuma would still have maintained a substantial margin. The court also said there was not enough evidence to link Najjuma personally to any electoral offences or to prove that she approved the alleged irregularities.

The decision means Najjuma remains the duly elected MP for Nakaseke District Woman Representative, and Nakawooya was ordered to pay the legal costs for Najjuma and the Electoral Commission. More broadly, the case illustrates how Ugandan election petitions often turn on whether proven irregularities are significant enough to have affected the final outcome.