The High Court in Wakiso has closed the election dispute between former National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Daniel Kananura and National Unity Platform (NUP) MP George Musisi after allowing Kananura to withdraw his petition challenging Musisi’s victory in Kira Municipality.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, Justice George Okello ordered each party to meet its own legal costs and declared Musisi validly elected as the directly elected Member of Parliament for Kira Municipality.
The withdrawal brought the legal challenge to an end without a full determination of the allegations of electoral malpractice raised against Musisi and the Electoral Commission.
Justice Okello, however, criticised the manner in which Kananura’s petition had been prepared, saying the case had significant weaknesses from the outset. He observed that the petitioner’s lawyers had repeatedly attempted to address gaps in their evidence through cross-examination during the trial.
“I agree that the petition was very badly prepared from the start,” Justice Okello said.
Kananura applied to discontinue the case on October 8, 2026, when the trial was nearing completion. The Electoral Commission’s final witness was expected to face cross-examination on October 12, after which the parties would have filed written submissions ahead of judgment.
In support of his application, Kananura told the court that consultations with voters and a review of the case had convinced him that crucial evidence required to prove his allegations to the required legal standard was no longer available.
He attributed the weaknesses in his case to his former lawyers, accusing them of rushing to file the petition without including evidence that could have supported his claims. He maintained that his decision to withdraw the case was made in good faith and was not the result of a corrupt arrangement or financial compensation.
Justice Okello questioned this explanation, noting that Kananura had sufficient time after the declaration of the election results to collect evidence and prepare his case. The judge also faulted him for failing to identify the specific evidence his former lawyers had allegedly omitted.
Kananura filed the petition on March 31, 2026, accusing Musisi, his agents and Electoral Commission officials of involvement in electoral irregularities, including violence, intimidation, voter bribery, vote-rigging and collusion.
He also challenged the credibility of results recorded on declaration forms, arguing that irregularities in the counting and declaration of votes had denied him victory.
According to the results cited in the petition, Musisi won the election with 21,561 votes, followed by former area MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, who obtained 14,685 votes. Kananura came third with 6,927 votes, while the remaining candidates each secured fewer than 550 votes.
By the time the petitioner sought to discontinue the case, the proceedings had advanced considerably, with the court having heard and completed the cross-examination of Kananura, Musisi and several other witnesses.
Musisi’s lead lawyer, Erias Luyimbaazi Nalukoola, and Electoral Commission counsel Patrick Wetaka did not object to the withdrawal. However, they asked the court to award costs to their respective clients, citing Section 84(4) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, which addresses the liability of a petitioner who withdraws an election petition for the respondents’ costs.
Justice Okello declined to impose additional costs on Kananura, reasoning that the provision did not automatically require the court to award costs in every withdrawal.
The judge relied on Supreme Court guidance from presidential election cases in interpreting the word “shall” in the provision as directory rather than mandatory.
He also pointed out that the court had previously ordered Kananura to pay half the costs arising from miscellaneous applications numbered 48 and 69 of 2026, in which his amended petition had been struck out. The costs had not yet been assessed or paid.
Justice Okello said the late stage at which Kananura sought to withdraw the petition would ordinarily have justified an award of costs to the respondents.
“Given the circumstances of this case, especially where the withdrawal happened towards the end of the trial, I would have awarded each respondent 50 per cent of the taxed costs,” the judge said.
“ But because this court did award costs to the respondents in miscellaneous applications number 48 and 69 of 2026… this court finds it just, fair and equitable not to saddle the petitioner with more cost burdens.”
The court consequently directed that each party bear its own costs for both the election petition and the application to withdraw it.
Kananura was absent when the ruling was delivered and was represented by his lawyer, Allan Charles Bukuwa, who subsequently described the decision as fair.
Nalukoola said Musisi would have preferred to recover his legal costs but would respect the court’s decision and had no intention of appealing against it.
In formally concluding the proceedings, Justice Okello declared Musisi validly elected and duly sworn in as the directly elected MP representing Kira Municipality in the 12th Parliament.
The decision ends Kananura’s legal challenge to Musisi’s election. However, because the petition was withdrawn before judgment on its merits, the court did not determine whether the alleged electoral irregularities occurred.
English 