Budiope East: Court rejects bid to overturn Magogo’s election
Mulire, a former senior police officer, had asked the court to nullify Magogo’s election, arguing that the Electoral Commission (EC) unlawfully disqualified him from the race, resulting in Magogo’s election as MP.
The Member of Parliament for Budiope East, Moses Hashim Magogo. (File photo)
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The High Court in Kampala has dismissed Daniel Mulire’s application seeking to overturn the election of Moses Hashim Magogo as Member of Parliament (MP) for Budiope East.
Mulire, a former senior police officer, had asked the court to nullify Magogo’s election, arguing that the Electoral Commission (EC) unlawfully disqualified him from the race, resulting in Magogo’s election as MP.
Seeking a review of its earlier judgment in the matter, Mulire argued, among other things, that the court’s earlier finding that his resignation letter was not authentic had not been raised in Ibrahim Yeko’s complaint to the EC and had not formed the basis of his disqualification from the race.
Mulire argued that the court’s determination of an issue that had not been raised by the complainant before the EC, without giving him an opportunity to be heard, violated the principles of natural justice and his right to a fair hearing.
He contended that the omission constituted an error apparent on the face of the record and/or sufficient cause to warrant a review of the judgment.
“The application does not disclose an error apparent on the face of the record, and it is further compromised by the unexplained delay and the remedies sought. It is therefore not a proper application for review. The net effect is that the application fails and is hereby dismissed with costs,” Justice Kinobe ruled.
The judge said Mulire was effectively attempting to appeal against the earlier decision through a review, a route not provided for under the law.
“The prayers and order sought can only be achieved through an election petition, the threshold of which cannot be met by an application of this nature,” Justice Kinobe noted.
The judge added that Mulire had failed to present any new evidence that could not, with due diligence, have been produced earlier.
Earlier on Monday, Justice Kinobe declined to recuse himself from the case, following a request from Mulire's legal team, paving the way for him to rule on the application for a review of his earlier judgment.
Background
On October 22 last year, the EC cleared Mulire to contest for the Budiope East parliamentary seat.
However, on November 14, 2025, Yeko, a registered voter in the constituency, lodged a complaint asking the commission to disqualify Mulire for allegedly failing to prove that he had resigned from the police force at least 90 days before his nomination, as required by law.
On December 23 last year, the EC disqualified Mulire, prompting him to appeal to the High Court.
In his judgment, Justice Kinobe dismissed the appeal, noting that although candidates were not required to attach resignation letters to their nomination documents, Mulire had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for not presenting evidence of his resignation during the appeal hearing.