Court Upholds Joel Ssenyonyi’s Election

The High Court has upheld the election of Joel Ssenyonyi as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Nakawa Division West, dismissing an election petition filed by lawyer and politician Ivan Bwowe.

Bwowe had challenged Ssenyonyi’s election, arguing that candidates, including the incumbent MP, were nominated for “Nakawa West Constituency” instead of the legally established “Nakawa Division West Constituency”. The petition was filed against the Electoral Commission, the Kampala District Returning Officer and Ssenyonyi.

However, in his judgment, Civil Division Judge Justice Allan Paul Nshimye faulted the Electoral Commission (EC) for errors in the nomination documents issued to candidates, warning that such mistakes could create opportunities for abuse of the electoral process.

In his findings, Justice Nshimye confirmed that the Commission had indeed incorrectly described the constituency as “Nakawa West Constituency” on the declaration of nominated candidates forms issued to contestants.

Justice Nshimye cautioned that errors of this nature could have more serious consequences if left unchecked, warning that they could potentially be exploited to manipulate the electoral process. He illustrated the risk by observing that electoral officials could, for instance, issue nomination documents bearing the wrong constituency and subsequently allow a candidate to contest in a different electoral area.

Although the judge observed that the error had contributed to the dispute raised by Bwowe, he found that the petitioner had not presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the Commission’s actions amounted to non-compliance with electoral laws warranting the nullification of the election.

He further held that Bwowe had failed to establish sufficient legal grounds to overturn Ssenyonyi’s victory. He consequently dismissed the petition and upheld the election result.

On costs, the court ordered the Electoral Commission to pay a quarter of the costs incurred by both Bwowe and Ssenyonyi.

Ssenyonyi was declared the winner of the January 15 parliamentary election after securing 21,761 votes in a contest involving eight candidates. Bwowe, who garnered 271 votes, subsequently challenged the outcome, arguing that the nomination process had been conducted under an incorrect description of the constituency.

Bwowe maintained that “Nakawa West” was not the legally recognised name of the constituency and that he was the only candidate properly nominated for Nakawa Division West. On that basis, he argued that he should have been declared elected unopposed rather than subjected to a parliamentary election.

The Electoral Commission, Ssenyonyi and the Returning Officer argued that Bwowe had not properly established his legal entitlement to challenge the election under Section 79(2) of the Parliamentary Elections Act.

The provision allows an election petition to be filed by a candidate who lost the election or by a registered voter supported by at least 500 registered voters from the constituency. The respondents argued that Bwowe had neither properly presented his case as a losing candidate nor filed it under the alternative provision requiring support from 500 registered voters.

They also invoked the principle of claim preclusion, arguing that Bwowe had previously challenged the use of “Nakawa West” in the nomination documents before the election and that the matter had already been determined by the High Court.

The earlier case was dismissed by Justice Collins Acellam on January 8, 2026. The respondents maintained that the decision had settled the question of whether the use of the disputed constituency description invalidated the nominations and that Bwowe could not reopen the same dispute through an election petition after the polls.

They further argued that Bwowe had not demonstrated that the alleged irregularities substantially affected the election results, as required under electoral law for an election to be nullified.

The respondents challenged Bwowe’s supporting affidavit, contending that it contained legal arguments and conclusions rather than factual evidence. They separately objected to the inclusion of the Returning Officer as a respondent, arguing that Bwowe had not alleged any personal misconduct, bad faith or actions outside the officer’s lawful mandate.

The petition had sought declarations invalidating Ssenyonyi’s nomination and election, with Bwowe asking the court to recognise him as the candidate legally entitled to the parliamentary seat.

The latest ruling brings to a close another chapter in the legal dispute over the description of Nakawa Division West during the January 2026 parliamentary election.