Kira Municipality MP George Musisi says Daniel Kananura wasted court time and public resources by withdrawing his election challenge during cross-examination, after alleging irregularities in the 2026 poll.
Kira Municipality MP George Musisi has accused his election rival Daniel Kananura of abusing court processes after the High Court allowed him to withdraw a petition challenging the outcome of the 2026 parliamentary election.
Musisi said the case had wasted time and resources that could have been devoted to serving residents of Kira Municipality, arguing that Kananura had failed to produce sufficient evidence to support his allegations.
“First of all, we welcome the court decision, and like we’ve earlier said, this was a classic case of abuse of court process,” Musisi said.
He dismissed Kananura’s explanation that his former lawyers had failed to present sufficient evidence, insisting that the petitioner had adequate time to substantiate his claims.
“The excuse the petitioner gave that his lawyers didn’t file sufficient evidence in time is certainly just that, an excuse. He had all the time to gather all the evidence, but he couldn’t gather what doesn’t exist,” Musisi said.
Kananura had applied to withdraw the petition, explaining that further reflection and consultations with his lawyers had revealed that key evidence needed to prove his allegations to the required legal standard was no longer available.
In his supporting affidavit, Kananura also accused his former legal team of filing the petition hurriedly and failing to include evidence he believed was necessary to challenge Musisi’s election successfully.
Musisi rejected the explanation, maintaining that the petition lacked a factual and legal basis.
Although the court declined to award Musisi additional costs arising from the withdrawal application, the MP said he respected the decision.
The court directed the parties to bear their own costs in the application. Musisi’s lawyer, Elias Nalukoola, explained that the judge had considered costs Kananura had previously been ordered to pay in another application.
Musisi criticised the filing of election petitions that lack sufficient evidence, saying they inconvenience successful candidates and place additional demands on the courts.
“While we respect the decision of people to contest election results, that contest should be grounded in law and in fact,” he said.
The MP challenged Kananura to publicly present the evidence he claimed his former lawyers had failed to introduce during the proceedings.
“We challenge him now that he doesn’t have the burden of paying us lots of costs to hold a press conference anywhere, either in Kira or in Uganda, at our cost, to show the world the evidence that he claims his lawyers didn’t adduce,” Musisi said.
He offered to meet the expenses of such a press conference, saying Kananura should use the opportunity to explain the basis of his allegations to the public.
“We can undertake to fund all the expenses involved for him to address the media and show the world the evidence,” he said.
Musisi further argued that the dispute had diverted attention from the responsibilities of an elected representative and said Kananura owed the people of Kira an apology for pursuing a case that did not proceed to a final determination.
“Short of that, he owes the people of Kira an apology, wasting their time, where the elected leader is busy defending themselves in court instead of representing them,” Musisi said.
The High Court in Wakiso, presided over by Judge George Okello, granted Kananura leave to withdraw the petition challenging Musisi’s victory in the Kira Municipality parliamentary election.
Kananura had alleged that the election was marred by violence, intimidation, voter bribery, vote rigging and other irregularities. He also accused Musisi of conspiring with polling agents and Electoral Commission officials to falsify election results.
The petitioner argued that the results recorded on declaration of results forms and other electoral documents did not reflect the actual votes obtained by the candidates.
He asked the court to nullify Musisi’s election, declare him the duly elected MP or, alternatively, order a fresh election.
However, in an application filed on October 8, 2026, Kananura said he had decided not to proceed with the petition after further reflection and consultations.
He maintained that the withdrawal was made in good faith and was not prompted by collusion, a corrupt or illegal bargain, an arrangement or financial compensation involving the respondents.
The application was filed while the case was at the witness cross-examination stage. Kananura’s lawyers had cross-examined Musisi and some of his witnesses, as well as one Electoral Commission witness, before seeking to discontinue the proceedings.
The court subsequently granted leave for the withdrawal and directed each party to bear its own costs in the application.
The withdrawal means the allegations raised in the petition were not fully tested and determined through a completed trial. The court's decision to allow the withdrawal should therefore not be interpreted as a finding that the allegations were either proved or disproved.
Musisi remains the MP representing Kira Municipality in the 12th Parliament.