The High Court in Wakiso has affirmed George Musisi as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Kira Municipality, bringing to an end a nine-month legal battle over the National Unity Platform (NUP) legislator’s victory in the January 2026 parliamentary elections.
Justice George Okello yesterday granted former National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Daniel Kananura leave to withdraw his election petition challenging Musisi’s election, effectively clearing the way for Musisi to continue serving as Kira Municipality MP in the 12th Parliament.
The decision followed Kananura’s application to abandon the petition after the case had progressed to the stage of cross-examining witnesses.
Although the court allowed the withdrawal, it did not make findings on the substantive allegations contained in the petition because the case was not concluded on its merits. The court also declined to award costs to Musisi and the Electoral Commission, directing the parties to bear their own costs in the withdrawal application.
Musisi’s lawyer, Erias Luyimbaazi Nalukoola, welcomed the decision, saying it vindicated his client’s victory and confirmed that the people of Kira had elected Musisi to represent them.
Nalukoola said the legal battle had subjected Musisi to an unnecessary challenge despite the significant margin by which he won the election. “We welcome the court decision because it affirms the victory of our client,” Nalukoola said.
He had earlier urged court to dismiss the petition and award Musisi costs incurred in defending his victory, arguing that Kananura had failed to produce sufficient evidence to sustain his allegations.
The petition had put Musisi’s mandate under prolonged legal uncertainty, with the NUP legislator forced to spend time in court defending an election he had won by a wide margin.
How Musisi won Kira
Musisi emerged victorious in the January 15, 2026 parliamentary election on the NUP ticket in a highly competitive Kira Municipality race.
The contest attracted eight candidates, including former area MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, who stood on the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) ticket, and Kananura, who represented the ruling NRM.
The Electoral Commission results showed Musisi winning the seat with 24,848 votes, followed by Ssemujju with 16,654 votes, while Kananura finished third with 7,799 votes.
Musisi’s victory was subsequently gazetted, making him the elected representative of Kira Municipality in the 12th Parliament.
But Kananura disputed the outcome and went to the High Court seeking to overturn Musisi’s election.
His petition, filed on March 31, 2026, challenged the conduct and outcome of the election, alleging, among other things, intimidation, voter bribery, violence, vote rigging and irregularities in the declaration and transmission of results.
Kananura also alleged that results contained in some declaration of results forms differed from figures subsequently published by the Electoral Commission.
He asked court to nullify Musisi’s election and either declare him the winner or order a fresh election.
Legal battle hits procedural hurdle
The petition encountered its first major setback in September when Justice Okello struck out an amended version filed by Kananura.
The judge ruled that parliamentary election petitions could not be amended in the manner attempted by Kananura, particularly outside the strict statutory timelines governing electoral disputes.
Kananura had filed the original petition on March 31 and subsequently filed an amended petition on April 7.
Musisi and the Electoral Commission challenged the amendment, arguing that it introduced new matters after the prescribed period for filing an election petition had expired.
Justice Okello agreed and struck out the amended petition but allowed the original petition to remain before court.
The substantive case subsequently proceeded, with Kananura taking the witness stand and later Musisi being cross-examined by the petitioner’s lawyers.
Kananura’s evidence questioned
During cross-examination, Kananura attributed his defeat partly to heavy deployment of the military and other security agencies on election day.
He told court that the deployment, particularly in Bweyogerere and Kireka, intimidated some of his supporters and prevented them from accessing polling stations.
However, Justice Okello questioned how the allegation could be established without direct testimony from voters who had allegedly been prevented from voting.
The Electoral Commission’s lawyers also questioned the claim, pointing out that Musisi’s supporters had managed to vote in large numbers despite the alleged security presence.
Kananura also alleged that some declaration of results forms had been altered.
However, during proceedings, questions emerged about the evidence supporting the allegations. Kananura acknowledged that although he had agents deployed across the 314 polling stations in the municipality, some of the forms returned by his team were unsigned or contained names of agents who had not been appointed.
The court also heard evidence from Electoral Commission officials concerning differences between some results recorded at polling stations and figures later generated through the electronic results transmission system.
The Electoral Commission returning officer, Tolbert Musinguzi, told court that the electronic system resulted in an increase in the votes of all candidates and that the changes did not affect the outcome.
Musisi was also subjected to cross-examination over his campaign and the results that led to his declaration.
Kananura abandons case
As the hearing progressed, Kananura eventually decided to withdraw the petition. His lawyer, Charles Allan Bukuwa, asked court to permit the withdrawal, arguing that the petition had not wasted the court’s time or that of the respondents.
Bukuwa welcomed Justice Okello’s decision to allow the withdrawal and, in particular, the decision not to award costs against his client.
He said the ruling was significant because Kananura had sought to end the case without exposing himself to a potentially heavy financial burden arising from the respondents’ legal expenses.
The Electoral Commission had not opposed the withdrawal but had asked court to award costs under the relevant provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
Musisi’s lawyers similarly opposed withdrawal without costs, arguing that their client had incurred substantial expenses defending his mandate throughout the proceedings.
But Justice Okello ultimately allowed the withdrawal and directed the parties to bear their own costs.
Musisi celebrates victory
Musisi described the court decision as an end to what he called an unnecessary challenge to his mandate.
He accused Kananura of abusing the court process and wasting time and public resources by pursuing a case that he said lacked sufficient evidence.
“First of all, we welcome the court decision, and like we’ve earlier said, this was a classic case of abuse of court process,” Musisi said.
Musisi said the withdrawal meant that the allegations made against him during the election petition would not result in the cancellation of his mandate.
He also said the people of Kira deserved an elected representative who was able to concentrate on parliamentary work instead of spending months defending an election victory in court.
The court’s decision therefore closes the legal chapter surrounding the Kira Municipality parliamentary seat.
However, because Kananura withdrew the petition before a full trial and final determination of the allegations, the ruling should not be interpreted as a judicial finding that every allegation raised in the petition was proved or disproved.
For Musisi, however, the practical outcome is decisive: the High Court has allowed the withdrawal and declared him duly elected, leaving him free to continue representing Kira Municipality in the 12th Parliament.
Author Profile
- Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]
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