High Court Dismisses Mufumbiro’s Nakawa East Election Petition

The High Court has questioned the evidential basis of an election petition filed by National Unity Platform (NUP) deputy spokesperson Waiswa Mufumbiro, challenging the election of National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Fredric Ruhindi as the Nakawa East Member of Parliament.

In his ruling, Justice Allan Nshimye found that uncertified declaration of results forms and unsubstantiated allegations of electoral irregularities were insufficient to establish that the election was conducted improperly or that Mufumbiro had obtained more votes than Ruhindi. The petitioner had presented photocopies of declaration results forms, which the Electoral Commission challenged under Section 68 of the Evidence Act, pointing out that public documents require primary evidence or certified copies.

Justice Nshimye agreed with the commission, citing Supreme Court precedent to emphasize that uncertified copies cannot be treated as valid evidence. The court also addressed claims of unusually high voter turnout near border points. A witness presented by Mufumbiro claimed some stations reached near 100 percent turnout, but during cross-examination, he admitted that figures like a claimed 99.99 percent turnout at Staff Nursery Primary School were actually 66.78 percent.

Furthermore, the judge questioned why Mufumbiro failed to call polling agents who were directly present at the stations to testify. While acknowledging minor inconsistencies in gender breakdown figures on some result forms, the court noted that valid votes cast for each candidate were properly recorded, meaning presiding officers had substantially performed their duties.

Citing established case law, Justice Nshimye reiterated that petitioners must prove not only that irregularities occurred, but also demonstrate how such anomalies directly affected the final outcome. Read more details on the Nile Post.