The Masaka City Woman MP says she survived an alleged plot to overturn her victory after the High Court dismissed Rose Nalubowa’s election petition, although the judge identified breaches in the recount process.
State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere has accused the National Unity Platform (NUP) of colluding with police and the Electoral Commission to rig elections, saying she was fortunate to retain her seat after a disputed recount in the Masaka City Woman MP race.
“The President has always told us that NUP rigs elections, and not many took him seriously. But it is a serious problem, and we must address it,” Nameere told Nile Post in an exclusive interview.
She spoke after the High Court in Masaka dismissed an election petition filed by her main challenger, NUP’s Rose Nalubowa, and awarded costs against her, leaving Nameere’s election victory intact.
The dispute arose from the January 15, 2026 parliamentary elections, in which the Electoral Commission initially declared Nalubowa the winner with 25,443 votes against Nameere’s 20,324, giving the NUP candidate a lead of 5,119 votes.
Nameere subsequently petitioned the Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court for a recount, arguing that votes from several polling stations had been omitted from the original tally.
The recount, conducted under the supervision of Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe, reversed the initial outcome, giving Nameere 25,502 votes against Nalubowa’s 23,176. The revised tally gave Nameere a winning margin of 2,326 votes.
Nalubowa challenged the outcome in the High Court, citing alleged irregularities in the recount, including compromised ballot boxes and electoral materials, as well as the exclusion of 1,353 votes cast by voters.
In a judgment delivered on October 21, 2026, Justice Bernard Namanya found that the recount had proceeded in breach of electoral laws after the integrity of some electoral materials had been compromised.
However, the judge ruled that Nalubowa had not proved that the irregularities substantially affected the final result.
The court further found that even if all 1,353 excluded votes were added to Nalubowa’s tally, she would still trail Nameere by 973 votes. The petition was consequently dismissed with costs.
Nameere said Nalubowa had been misled by individuals who encouraged her to challenge the result in court, arguing that those who advised her would not bear the financial consequences of the failed petition.
“There are people who misled her and advised her to go to court. Now they will be nowhere to be seen. She has only herself to blame for the costs levied on her,” Nameere said.
The minister also accused individuals she described as “conmen” of engaging in illegal activities, including land grabbing in Masaka City. She claimed some of them were among the leading supporters of Nalubowa’s election petition.
With the High Court case concluded, Nameere said her priority was to reconcile residents of Masaka City, whose relationships may have been strained by the highly contested election.
She expressed confidence that reconciliation was possible, citing what she described as her people-centred approach to leadership.
Nameere also said she had previously accompanied Nalubowa and her husband to meet President Yoweri Museveni in an effort to initiate reconciliation between the political rivals.
“Together with her husband, I took them to the President, and we all presented our cases. If I was not interested in reconciliation, could I have taken them to the President?” she asked.
Despite her call for reconciliation, Nameere maintained her criticism of NUP, accusing the opposition party of routinely engaging in electoral malpractice.
She claimed that several National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidates, independents and politicians from other parties had lost what she considered legitimate victories because of alleged collusion involving NUP candidates, police and the Electoral Commission.
“There are many leaders from my party, NRM, independents and other parties who have fallen victim to NUP candidates’ rigging using the police and Electoral Commission. I am lucky that I live to tell that story,” she said.