Handwriting Expert Set to Testify in Mawogola Election Petition

The legal battle surrounding the Mawogola County South parliamentary election is heating up at the Masaka High Court. Presiding Judge Justice Rosette Comfort Kania adjourned the proceedings to allow former legislator Gorreth Namugga to present her final witness before officially closing her case.

Ms Namugga is challenging the victory of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, Dez Byuuma Oswald, who was declared the winner by the Electoral Commission with 25,781 votes. In comparison, Ms Namugga secured 4,857 votes, while independent candidates Denis Ddumba and Maurice Mukiibi received 924 and 436 votes, respectively.

Represented by a legal team led by Caleb Alaka, the petitioner has already presented four witnesses to support claims of electoral malpractices. According to Ms Namugga, the election was heavily compromised by violence, ballot stuffing, and the deliberate alteration of declaration of results (DR) forms across 16 of the constituency’s 95 polling stations.

Testifying before the court, Ms Namugga alleged that these specific polling stations were manned by teachers from Mr Byuuma’s private school, Dez Junior Academy, giving her rival an unfair advantage. She also claimed she missed the tally center announcement after being assaulted on the eve of the vote, and that her official polling agent was unlawfully ejected.

Another witness, Joseph Ssentongo, who served as a polling agent for Ms Namugga, testified that security operatives disrupted voting at the Kayunga polling station by assaulting voters and election officials, forcing him to flee for his safety.

Meanwhile, the defense has pushed back against these claims. Mr Haruna Ssewaya, the lawyer representing Mr Byuuma, questioned the credibility of the petitioner’s timeline regarding the alleged violence, noting that testimonies indicating disturbances began around 4:00 pm suggest that voting had already largely concluded.

The court is expected to resume its session as the petitioner presents her handwriting expert to scrutinize the contested declaration forms. Read more about this legal development on the Daily Monitor.