Court Upholds Bukimbiri’s Eddie Kwizera Victory

The High Court  in Kabale has dismissed an election petition challenging the victory of Bukimbiri County Member of Parliament Eddie Kwizera Wagahungu.

James Owebeyi Mugyemano of  the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) had alleged that Kwizera influenced the removal of his name from the voters’ register, preventing him from participating in the election.

Owebeyi said he had notified Kisoro District Returning Officer, Dan Nayebare about the matter and requested that the election be postponed until the issue was resolved, but no action was taken.

He cited the postponement of elections in other constituencies, including Ibanda and Kibanda North in Kiryandongo District, where voting was delayed because of errors in electoral materials.

Owebeyi further argued that proceeding with the election denied him a fair opportunity to contest, resulting in financial and reputational losses amounting to 674.5 million shillings. 

He asked the court to annul Kwizera’s victory, order a fresh election and direct Kwizera and the Electoral Commission to compensate him for the alleged losses and pay the costs of the petition.

However, in a ruling delivered on Monday via email, Justice Farouk Lubega, dismissed the petition, ruling that Owebeyi lacked locus standi because he had failed to prove that he was a Ugandan citizen and a validly nominated candidate.

Justice Lubega noted that Owebeyi had emphasised in his submissions that he was duly nominated to contest for Bukimbiri County Constituency. 

The nomination documents he relied on to support his claim were expunged from the court record for violating the rules of evidence because they had not been certified.

The judge, however, observed that Owebeyi had raised a constitutional issue concerning a candidate’s right to vote. 

Justice Lubega also stated that although the petition had been unsuccessful, the issues it raised were of political and national importance.

Lubega also ordered that in the interest of promoting harmony and reconciliation, each party should bear its own costs.

Reacting to the ruling, Kwizera told URN that Owebeyi had been wasting time and was being influenced by a few people seeking to destabilise leadership in Bukimbiri County.

Efforts to obtain a comment from Owebeyi were unsuccessful, as he could not be reached by phone.

During the January 15, 2026 general elections, Kwizera retained his seat as an independent candidate after polling 14,761 votes. 

His closest challenger, National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer Asgario Turyagyenda, garnered 12,553 votes, while Owebeyi received 102 votes.

Kwizera now remains battling another election petition filed against his victory by NRM’s Asgario Tugyagyenda. 

Turyagyenda alleges that his supporters and polling agents were beaten and harassed during the voting process. 

He also accuses Kwizera of voter bribery and alleges that polling officials manipulated election results in favour of the incumbent, contrary to Electoral Commission guidelines.