The election petition challenging Betty Nambooze’s victory as Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament took a dramatic turn after two witnesses who had reportedly gone missing were found inside a vehicle belonging to petitioner Sarah Daisy Ssonko Nabatanzi at the Mukono High Court premises.
The incident sparked a confrontation between the witnesses, their father and security personnel guarding the vehicle, prompting court security to intervene. Police later arrested the two witnesses and their father.
The witnesses, identified as Joseph Yiga and Fred Ssebatta, had reportedly gone missing two days earlier after allegedly signing fresh affidavits contradicting their earlier statements in support of Nabatanzi’s petition.
Their family subsequently reported their disappearance to police under reference number 23/20/10/2026, claiming that efforts to trace them at different police stations had been unsuccessful.
The circumstances surrounding their disappearance and how they ended up in Nabatanzi’s vehicle remained unclear.
According to accounts of the incident at court, Nabatanzi arrived with the two witnesses, who were kept inside her Toyota Alphard parked in the court compound and guarded by private security personnel commonly referred to as bouncers.
Vincent Nkonge, the witnesses’ father, was reportedly alerted that his sons were inside the vehicle. He rushed to the scene and demanded their release, triggering a confrontation with the security personnel.
The bouncers allegedly assaulted Nkonge, prompting court security personnel to intervene. The two witnesses were subsequently removed from the vehicle, sparking another confrontation as they protested the alleged assault on their father.
The witnesses were reportedly heard shouting that their father could not be beaten simply because Nabatanzi had paid them. The remarks raised questions about the relationship between the petitioner and the witnesses, although the allegation of payment had not been independently verified.
Police officers from Mukono Police Station later arrived at the court premises and arrested Yiga, Ssebatta and their father before taking them to the station. The circumstances surrounding the arrests and any charges arising from the incident were not immediately clear.
Nabatanzi filed the election petition challenging Nambooze’s victory in the January 2026 parliamentary elections, seeking to overturn the results of the Mukono Municipality contest over alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
The latest incident comes amid developments involving the petitioner’s own witnesses, whose earlier affidavits reportedly supported her case but who are said to have subsequently sworn new affidavits contradicting their previous accounts.
Affidavits are written statements sworn under oath and presented as evidence in court proceedings. When a witness contradicts an earlier statement, the inconsistencies may become central to cross-examination, during which lawyers test the credibility and reliability of the evidence.
The petition is being heard by Justice Godfrey Himbaza at the High Court in Mukono, where proceedings were continuing with the cross-examination of witnesses.
The court is expected to determine the petition based on the evidence presented by the parties and the applicable electoral laws.
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