Bukomansimbi Woman MP Petitions High Court To Review January Election Results

Veronica Nanyondo, the Bukomansimbi District Woman Member of Parliament, has petitioned the Masaka High Court to challenge the declaration of Ruth Katushabe as the winner of the January 15 election in the district. Nanyondo, who was running for a third term on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket, says in her affidavits that Katushabe, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, was wrongly declared the winner because she did not score the highest number of votes.

The Bukomansimbi District Returning Officer, Betty Kyomugereku, had declared Katushabe the winner with 23,481 votes, narrowly beating Nanyondo, who scored 23,275 votes — a margin of 206 votes. However, Nanyondo accuses Katushabe of colluding with the Returning Officer and Francis Kyesimire, the Bukomansimbi District Police Commander, to manipulate election results in her favour. 

She claims that despite obtaining declaration of results forms from all 217 polling stations showing her as the winner, the Returning Officer declared Katushabe, who she says actually came second. According to Nanyondo, she legitimately received 23,626 votes, while Katushabe garnered 21,679 votes — results that were allegedly interchanged to deny her victory. 

She further alleges that when she raised concerns during the tallying process, she was violently arrested by security operatives and removed from the tally centre. Through her lawyers, led by John Chrysostom Katumba, Nanyondo is asking the court to re-examine all the election declaration of results forms and declare her the validly elected Woman MP for Bukomansimbi District. 

She has also lodged indictments against the Returning Officer and the District Police Commander, accusing them of abusing their offices to falsify election results.


Katumba noted that they have received instructions to serve Katushabe and other parties with copies of the petition so they can prepare responses and allow the hearing to commence as soon as possible. 

Notably, in January, Nanyondo had filed for a vote recount before Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court, but the application was dismissed because it was based on non-certified declaration of results forms and tally sheets.