Court Expunges 19 Witness Affidavits in Fred Nyanzi’s Election Petition

The High Court in Kampala has expunged 19 witness affidavits filed by Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu in his election petition challenging the victory of National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Madiina Ntale Nsereko as Kawempe South Member of Parliament.

Justice Faridah Bukirwa decided on Wednesday after Nyanzi’s lawyers told the court that they had failed to trace the witnesses whose affidavits had been filed in support of the petition.

Nyanzi’s lawyer, Alex Luganda, told the court that the petitioner had filed 22 witness affidavits but had managed to trace only four witnesses by the time the hearing began. Of the four, only three had valid national identity cards and were available to testify.

Luganda asked the court for more time to locate the remaining witnesses, explaining that their phones were switched off and they could not be found at their known places of residence.

However, lawyers representing Nsereko, led by Ahmed Kalule, opposed the request and asked the court to expunge the 19 affidavits, arguing that election petitions must be heard and determined within the prescribed timelines.

Kalule told the court that Justice Bukirwa had issued directions on October 6, 2026, to guide the proceedings, giving Nyanzi sufficient time to organise his witnesses. He argued that the petitioner had waited until the day of the hearing to look for them. 

Nsereko’s other lawyer, Brian Rubihayo, also asked the court to remove the affidavits from the record, saying they could not remain part of the evidence when the witnesses had not appeared to defend their statements. 

Justice Bukirwa agreed with the respondents’ lawyers, noting that Nyanzi had been given a full week to organise his witnesses but had failed to provide a convincing explanation for the absence of 19 of them.

“This court cannot promote laxity in handling election petitions; the consistency must get a timely decision. In the premises, I hereby expunge the affidavits of the 19 witnesses from the court record,” the judge ruled.

Following the decision, Nsereko’s lawyers said they would not cross-examine the three witnesses who remained. Kalule argued that their evidence lacked substance and that some of the most crucial witnesses were among those whose affidavits had been expunged. 

The defence subsequently closed its case against the available witnesses.

Luganda, however, told the court that Nyanzi’s legal team intended to cross-examine Kampala District Returning Officer Rashid Hasakya, whom he described as central to the petition. He added that they had no intention of questioning Nsereko. 

Electoral Commission lawyer Abubaker Kayondo informed the court that Hasakya had travelled to Iganga on official duty and was expected to return to Kampala later in the day. Justice Bukirwa stood over the matter to allow Kayondo to establish when the returning officer would be available. 

When the proceedings resumed, Kayondo told the court that he had been unable to reach Hasakya because of network problems. 

The judge subsequently adjourned the hearing to Monday, October 19, 2026, for the cross-examination of Hasakya.The decision to expunge the 19 affidavits is the second setback for Nyanzi in his petition challenging Nsereko’s election. 

On September 29, 2026, Justice Bukirwa dismissed an application in which Nyanzi had sought access to original electoral documents from 73 polling stations. The judge found that he had not presented sufficient evidence to justify an order for the discovery and inspection of the records. 

Nyanzi, who contested the January 15, 2026 parliamentary election on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket, is seeking to overturn Nsereko’s victory and have himself declared the duly elected Member of Parliament for Kawempe South.

The Electoral Commission declared Nsereko the winner with 18,591 votes against Nyanzi’s 11,292, giving her a margin of 7,299 votes.In his petition, Nyanzi alleges that votes were switched between the candidates at 20 polling stations, while results from another 53 polling stations were altered or manipulated in favour of Nsereko.

He also alleges discrepancies between results recorded on declaration forms obtained by his polling agents and the certified results held by the Electoral Commission. 

At St James Church polling station, for instance, Nyanzi claims that a declaration of results form obtained by his agents showed Nsereko had received 37 votes, while the tally sheet allegedly recorded 237 votes.He raised similar concerns about results from Polio Clinic, Caltech Playground, Mutigwedembe and Kainamula’s Place polling stations.

Nyanzi further told the court that copies of declaration of results forms collected by his polling agents indicated that he had secured 15,996 votes against Nsereko’s 10,267. He alleged that security personnel took four of the forms from his agents. 

To support his claims, Nyanzi had asked the court to compel the Electoral Commission to produce original electoral records from the 73 contested polling stations for inspection. 

The documents included official report books, original declaration of results forms, ballot paper accountability forms, scanner print-out reports and deployment books.

He argued that the records were necessary to establish whether votes had been added, switched or altered in favour of Nsereko.

He also sought an order requiring Nsereko to produce her original declaration of results forms for the contested polling stations, saying the copies held by his agents differed substantially from those certified by the Electoral Commission.

Nyanzi said he had tried to obtain the documents from the Electoral Commission before filing the application but had been unsuccessful.

The allegations remain part of his challenge to Nsereko’s election victory, which the court is yet to determine.