The court also found insufficient evidence to prove that Namuganza committed violence, ballot stuffing or the alleged offence of making false statements about Katoko’s character.
The High Court in Iganga has dismissed an election petition challenging the victory of Namuganza Persis Princess as Bukono County MP, ruling that the alleged electoral irregularities were not proved to have substantially affected the outcome of the January 15, 2026 election.
Justice Patience T.E. Rubagumya, in a judgment delivered on November 13, 2026, confirmed Namuganza’s election and awarded her the costs of the petition filed by her rival, Maganda Emmanuel Katoko.
Namuganza was declared winner with 15,696 votes against Katoko’s 14,431, giving her a victory margin of 1,265 votes.
The petition arose from the January 15 parliamentary election in which seven candidates contested for the Bukono County seat. Katoko challenged the results, accusing the Electoral Commission of failing to properly control ballot papers and alleging ballot stuffing, multiple voting and inflated voter turnout at several polling stations.
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He also accused Namuganza and her agents of bribery, violence, intimidation, making false statements about his character and detaining his election agents.
Namuganza and the Electoral Commission denied the allegations, maintaining that the election was conducted in accordance with the law.
In examining the allegations, Justice Rubagumya found that although there were incidents of violence at Namakoko Catholic Church, Gasani SDA Church and Kitaigalwa Mosque polling stations, the Electoral Commission’s failure to maintain peace and order at the affected stations did not substantially affect the election results.
The judge also noted that some Declaration of Results Forms contained arithmetic errors, but these were corrected in the tally sheets and did not alter the results.
On allegations of bribery, Katoko’s witnesses claimed that youth leaders were given sh15,000 each at a meeting at Kibaale Primary School on December 24, 2025, and that Namuganza promised sh800,000 to youth savings and credit cooperative organisations (SACCOs) in exchange for votes.
Other witnesses alleged that money and gifts, including clothes, sugar and cash, were distributed during meetings at Namuganza’s home and at Agape Secondary School.
However, the judge found that the evidence did not sufficiently establish that the alleged recipients were registered voters in Bukono County or that Namuganza personally, or through agents acting with her knowledge and approval, had given out the money and gifts as alleged.
The court also found insufficient evidence to prove that Namuganza committed violence, ballot stuffing or the alleged offence of making false statements about Katoko’s character.
Justice Rubagumya consequently ruled that Katoko had failed to prove that the alleged electoral offences and irregularities substantially affected the election or that Namuganza had personally committed, or authorised, any illegal practices.
The judge dismissed the petition and confirmed Namuganza as the duly elected Bukono County MP. She awarded costs to Namuganza but declined to award costs to the Electoral Commission, citing the incidents of violence at the three polling stations.
The judgment was delivered electronically on November 13, 2026.
