Court Upholds Cissy Namujju's Victory as Lwengo Woman MP

The Masaka High Court has dismissed an election petition challenging the victory of Cissy Namujju as the Lwengo District Woman Member of Parliament. Justice Rossette Comfort Kania delivered the ruling via email, upholding Namujju’s election and stating that she was properly declared the winner by the Electoral Commission.

The petition had been filed by Sarah Muwonge Nkonge, who sought to nullify the election results over allegations of voter bribery and claims that Namujju was declared a winner using tallies from only 150 out of 375 polling stations in the constituency. However, Justice Kania ruled that the petitioner failed to adduce enough evidence to substantiate these claims.

While the court noted that the returning officer omitted three polling stations representing 920 voters—an instance of non-compliance with electoral laws—it concluded that the anomaly did not substantially affect the final outcome. The judge pointed out that even if all 920 disputed votes had gone to the petitioner, Namujju would still maintain a comfortable lead of 3,885 votes.

Furthermore, the court found that the petitioner failed to properly serve Namujju with the legal documents within the stipulated timeframe, rendering parts of the petition legally flawed. Consequently, the court dismissed the case for lack of merit. However, Justice Kania declined to award costs to either side, ordering that each party bear its own expenses to avoid discouraging future legitimate election challenges.

Lawyers representing the respondents welcomed the decision, urging the leadership and the people of Lwengo to unite and focus on development now that the legal disputes have been settled. Meanwhile, the petitioner’s legal team noted that they are studying the judgment before deciding on their next course of action.

Read more details in the original report on Daily Monitor.