The High Court in Masaka will deliver its ruling on November 23 in NRM candidate Robert Asiimwe’s petition challenging Patrick Kuteesa’s election as Kimanya-Kabonera MP over alleged omissions in results from six polling stations.
The High Court in Masaka has concluded hearing an election petition filed by National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Robert Asiimwe challenging the election of National Unity Platform (NUP) legislator Patrick Kuteesa as Kimanya-Kabonera Member of Parliament, with Justice Joyce Kavuma setting November 23, 2026, for the ruling.
Asiimwe is challenging Kuteesa’s victory over alleged irregularities in the handling and declaration of results from six polling stations, which he argues affected the outcome of the parliamentary election.
The petition also places the authenticity and consistency of some Declaration of Results (DR) forms under scrutiny, following testimony by a government document examiner who identified discrepancies between documents submitted by the petitioner’s legal team and corresponding records held by the Electoral Commission.
Catherine Namuwaya, an official from the Government Analytical Laboratory responsible for document examination, testified about discrepancies identified in some of the disputed election documents.
According to the account of her testimony, Namuwaya said some DR forms presented by Asiimwe’s lawyers differed from corresponding records held by the Electoral Commission.
The disputed documents included forms from Kasijjagirwa and Kasango Playground polling stations.
The reported inconsistencies included signatures attributed to polling agents that did not match, as well as differences in the spelling of words such as “ballot” and “declaration”.
However, the discrepancies alone do not establish whether the documents were forged, altered or affected the election outcome. Their significance remains for the court to determine after considering all the evidence.
Election officials responsible for some of the polling stations cited in the petition also testified, reportedly telling the court that they had submitted the relevant DR forms to the Electoral Commission after voting.
The officials said they did not know why the Commission’s records reportedly showed that the documents were unavailable.
Their testimony raised questions about the handling, transmission and retention of election results documents, which the court will consider alongside the disputed forms and other evidence presented by the parties.
Lawyers representing Kuteesa, led by Jude Byamukama, accused the Electoral Commission of colluding with Asiimwe in an attempt to undermine their client’s electoral victory.
The lawyers also argued that the government examiner’s testimony had weakened the petitioner’s case, citing the inconsistencies identified in the disputed documents.
They maintained that the court should carefully examine the documents relied upon by Asiimwe before determining the petition.
The alleged collusion remains an accusation by Kuteesa’s legal team and has not been established as a finding of the court. The Electoral Commission’s response to the allegation was not included in the available account of the proceedings.
Kuteesa expressed confidence in his defence, telling supporters that he believed the evidence presented during the proceedings supported his position.
“We are confident in our case and believe that the evidence presented before the court will speak for itself. We are waiting for the court to deliver its decision,” he said.
Asiimwe, meanwhile, maintains that the alleged failure to tally or declare results from six polling stations affected the outcome of the election.
His lawyer, Anthony Kusingula, said the petitioner had presented evidence to support the challenge and trusted the court to determine the matter on its merits.
“We have presented the evidence we believe is necessary to support our client’s petition, and we trust the court to consider our case on its merits,” Kusingula said.
The competing positions leave the court to assess the allegations concerning the six polling stations, the testimony of election officials, the document examiner’s findings and the arguments advanced by both legal teams.
Justice Kavuma is scheduled to deliver the ruling on November 23, 2026. The decision will determine the outcome of Asiimwe’s legal challenge to Kuteesa’s election as Kimanya-Kabonera MP.