Former Busiro South MP Charles Matovu died days after the High Court began hearing his challenge to Kenan Opio’s election victory, leaving allegations of electoral irregularities unresolved.
The death of former Busiro South Member of Parliament Charles Matovu has left unresolved his election petition challenging the victory of incumbent MP Kenan Opio, with his lawyer saying the legal team had hoped to overturn the results.
Samuel Muyizzi, who represented Matovu, said they were disappointed that the former legislator had died before the court could determine the substantive petition. He maintained that Matovu had made progress on several issues in contention.
Matovu, 41, died on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, where he had been transferred from Lubaga Hospital after his condition deteriorated
. His death came six days after the High Court in Entebbe began hearing his petition seeking to nullify Opio’s election as MP for Busiro South in Wakiso District.
National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya said Matovu developed a sudden health complication on Monday night, October 19.
Rubongoya, who visited him at the hospital on Thursday, said the former legislator was in critical condition and could neither speak nor open his eyes before he was transferred to Mulago, where he later died.
Matovu represented Busiro South in the 11th Parliament after winning the constituency on the NUP ticket in the 2021 general election. He sought re-election in the January 15, 2026 polls but lost to National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Opio, who was declared the winner with 36,497 votes against Matovu’s 30,487 — a margin of 6,010 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Matovu petitioned the High Court in Entebbe, challenging Opio’s election and seeking an order nullifying his victory. His petition alleged non-compliance with electoral laws and irregularities that he argued had substantially affected the outcome of the poll.
The allegations were contested and had not been determined in a final judgment by the time of Matovu’s death.
The legal battle suffered a setback in September when the High Court dismissed an application in which Matovu sought access to additional electoral materials he considered necessary to support his petition.
He had asked the court to compel the Electoral Commission to produce several documents, including official report books, Declaration of Results forms, ballot paper accountability records, presidential election declaration forms and scanner reports.
He also sought certified results forms from 102 polling stations in Nkumba, Kisubi and Kitala wards, as well as forms from 58 other polling stations.
Through his lawyers, Matovu argued that examining the documents would help establish the authenticity of the electoral records and determine whether the declared results accurately reflected the votes cast.
However, Justice Jamson Karemani dismissed the application on September 25, ruling that the requests did not identify the documents with sufficient precision. The court also noted that some of the Declaration of Results forms sought by Matovu had already been provided to him.
The judge further faulted the timing of the application, noting that it had been filed months after some of the documents were requested and shortly before the scheduled hearing of the substantive petition.
The application was dismissed with costs, but the ruling did not determine the merits of the main election challenge.
The substantive hearing began on October 16, with Matovu seeking to prove that the alleged electoral irregularities were sufficient to invalidate Opio’s election.
The petition named Opio and the Electoral Commission as respondents, with the court expected to consider the evidence before making a determination.
Matovu’s death has left the petition’s allegations unresolved. By the time of reporting, the court and the parties had not publicly clarified the formal status of the proceedings following his death.
His death also brings to a close a political journey that saw him serve as Busiro South MP for five years before attempting to reclaim the seat in 2026.
An electrical engineer by profession, Matovu was born on April 1, 1985.