High Court Upholds Shyam Tanna’s Election

The High Court in Tororo has upheld the election of Shyam Jay Tanna as Member of Parliament for Tororo Municipality, dismissing a petition filed by his rival, Apollo Yeri Ofwono, over allegations of bribery, illegal campaign donations, violence and electoral irregularities.

Ofwono, who contested on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, had challenged the results of the January 15 parliamentary election, in which the Electoral Commission declared Tanna the winner with 5,781 votes against his 4,829, winning with a margin of 952 votes.

In his petition, Ofwono accused Tanna and people allegedly acting on his behalf of distributing money, food packages and other benefits to influence voters during the campaign period. He specifically cited the distribution of campaign-branded packages containing household items and 10,000 Shillings at Agururu B1, a one million Shillings contribution at the burial of Owino Stephen in Mudakori Village, and alleged donations of 150,000 Shillings and plastic chairs to Nyangole Church.

He also accused Tanna of giving two million Shillings to Agururu B Parish Community Group and distributing 20,000 Shillings as transport facilitation at a campaign gathering. Ofwono further alleged that Tanna campaigned beyond the authorised hours and that his supporters engaged in violence and intimidation, particularly during a confrontation at Chamwinula polling location on election day.

In a judgment delivered today, Friday, October 30, 2026, Justice Rosemary N. Bareebe ruled that Ofwono had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Tanna personally committed electoral offences or authorised other people to engage in misconduct on his behalf. The judge also found that the petitioner had not established that the Electoral Commission failed to conduct the election in accordance with the law or that any irregularities substantially affected the outcome.

However, Justice Bareebe found that although some of the incidents occurred, the evidence did not establish the necessary connection between the alleged misconduct and Tanna.

On the distribution of Christmas packages, the judge acknowledged that campaign-branded bags had been distributed to women but found that the people responsible had not been reliably identified or linked to Tanna because there was no independent evidence establishing the identities of the distributors or proving that they had acted with Tanna’s knowledge, approval or consent.

The judge held that campaign branding alone could not establish that the people distributing the packages were acting on the candidate’s instructions.

On the one million Shillings contribution at the Mudakori burial, Tanna admitted making the payment but maintained that it was a customary contribution to a bereaved family. The court found that Tanna had also made political remarks at the funeral, discussing community concerns and asking for support.

However, Justice Bareebe observed that the video recording showed Tanna discussing the relationship between his father and the deceased, addressing community concerns and requesting political support, while also referring to contributions made towards the funeral and the church.

The court concluded that although political campaigning took place alongside the funeral contribution, there was no sufficient evidence that the 1 million shillings was given to voters to influence their electoral choices.