Matovu’s Death Leaves Busiro South Election Petition Unresolved

What the report says

Former Busiro South MP Charles Matovu has died while his election petition against incumbent lawmaker Kenan Opio was still before the High Court in Entebbe, leaving the dispute unresolved. According to Nile Post, Matovu died on October 22, 2026, at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala after his condition worsened following treatment at Lubaga Hospital. The court had only begun hearing his challenge a few days earlier.

Matovu had contested the January 15, 2026 parliamentary result, in which Opio of the National Resistance Movement was declared winner with 36,497 votes against Matovu’s 30,487. He argued that irregularities and breaches of electoral law affected the outcome and asked the court to nullify the result. His legal team said they had hoped the petition would succeed, but the case was not decided before his death.

The report says the petition had already faced one setback in September, when the High Court dismissed Matovu’s request for additional electoral records, including results forms and ballot accountability materials. The judge found the application too vague and noted some records had already been supplied. That ruling did not address the main petition.

Matovu previously represented Busiro South in the 11th Parliament after winning the seat on the National Unity Platform ticket in 2021. His death now leaves questions about the formal status of the case, which had named Opio and the Electoral Commission as respondents.