Nalubowa’s challenge to Nameere’s Masaka seat returns to court

MASAKA — The legal battle over the Masaka City Woman MP seat entered a new stage on Monday when the High Court began preliminary proceedings in a petition filed by National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Rose Nalubowa.
Nalubowa is challenging the election of State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere after a recount overturned the Electoral Commission’s initial declaration of her as the winner.
At Monday’s hearing before Justice Bernard Namanya, Nalubowa’s lawyer, Alexander Lule, told the court that all the respondents had been served with the evidence the petitioner intends to rely on.
Nameere’s lawyer, Anthony Bazira, then asked the court to give the respondents time to file a rejoinder.
The dispute follows the January 15 election in which the Electoral Commission initially declared Nalubowa the winner with 25,443 votes, against Nameere’s 20,324.
Nameere challenged the result, prompting a recount supervised by Masaka Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe. When the recount ended in early February, Nameere was declared the winner with 25,502 votes, while Nalubowa received 23,176.
Nalubowa has rejected the recount results, alleging that the process was irregular and did not reflect the will of voters.
Nameere has asked the court to dismiss the petition with costs, arguing that it is defective, incompetent and does not disclose a cause of action.
The Masaka City Returning Officer and the Electoral Commission are also respondents.
Monday’s sitting was largely procedural, with the court dealing with the exchange of evidence and the respondents’ request to respond to Nalubowa’s evidence. The substantive hearing of the petition is expected to follow after the court gives further directions.
The case is among the election petitions arising from the January 2026 elections currently being handled by the Judiciary.