Court dismisses Akamba’s petition, upholds Azalwa’s election as Busiki MP
In a judgment on November 10, 2026, Justice Patience Rubagumya upheld Azalwa’s election and awarded him costs of the petition against Akamba.
Azalwa was declared the winner of the January 15, 2026, elections with 20,065 votes against Akamba’s 19,093, giving him a margin of 972 votes. (File photo)
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The High Court in Iganga has dismissed an election petition filed by Paul Akamba challenging the election of Joel Waiswa Azalwa as the Busiki County Member of Parliament.
In a judgment on November 10, 2026, Justice Patience Rubagumya upheld Azalwa’s election and awarded him costs of the petition against Akamba.
Azalwa was declared the winner of the January 15, 2026, elections with 20,065 votes against Akamba’s 19,093, giving him a margin of 972 votes. Azalwa was gazetted on March 2, 2026.
Akamba had asked the court to nullify Azalwa’s election, and instead declare him the winner or order a fresh election. Akamba alleged ballot stuffing, multiple voting, bribery, intimidation, violence, abduction of his polling agents, among other electoral irregularities.
However, the judge found that most of the allegations were not supported by sufficient evidence.
Justice Rubagumya held that although there was some non-compliance with electoral requirements at Budongo (A-I) Namutumba Primary School polling station, it did not substantially affect the election results.
The court established that polling at the station was disrupted when a group of youths stormed the polling area, causing chaos and interfering with the electoral process. Voting was interrupted for some time before police intervened, retrieved election materials and polling resumed.
She also found that the petitioner had not proved that his agents and supporters were beaten, intimidated or chased away from the polling station.
The judge noted that the disruption was confined to one polling station among the 194 polling stations in Busiki County Constituency and did not substantially affect the election outcome.
Akamba also accused Azalwa of bribing voters, saying he allegedly gave money to members of several savings groups during the campaign period to influence them to vote for him.
The allegations included claims that Azalwa gave sh50,000 to the Muzaddetagulwa savings group and another sh50,000 to its host, Ronald Muyinda , at a function held at his home in Namakoba on November 9, 2025.
He was also accused of giving sh200,000 to members of the Zibulatudde savings group, sh300,000 to the Makenha Parish Youth Leaders Emyooga Association and sh160,000 to members of the Ssekawuka PHA group.
However, Justice Rubagumya found that the petitioner had not presented sufficient evidence to prove that the money was given to registered voters to influence their voting decisions.
In the case of the Muzaddetagulwa savings group, the judge noted that Azalwa admitted attending the function but denied giving out the alleged money. The court also considered evidence from the group chairperson and its savings records, which did not show the alleged contribution.
On the alleged defacement of the petitioner’s campaign posters in Kirinya and Namutumba Town Council, Rubagumya said no evidence linked the people accused of defacing the posters to Azalwa.
The court also found that allegations of ballot stuffing and multiple voting at several polling stations, including Nalusolo Junction, Bukairu Mosque and Igerera Church of Uganda were not supported by sufficient evidence. The judge observed that in several instances, the petitioner’s agents had signed declaration of results forms without recording complaints.
At Nalusolo Junction polling station, the court found that the turnout was 86.88 percent and that the results were within the number of registered voters. It also noted that the voters’ register had not been presented to establish whether people voted more than once.
At Bukairu Mosque, the judge found inconsistencies in the witnesses’ accounts of the alleged violence and ballot stuffing. The court also noted that the declaration of results form had been signed by a person recorded as the petitioner’s agent.
The judge said the petitioner had failed to establish that the first respondent personally committed any electoral offence or that the alleged acts were carried out with his knowledge, consent or approval.
She, therefore, found that none of the grounds for setting aside the election under Section 80(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, had been established.
As a result, Justice Rubagumya confirmed Azalwa’s election as the directly elected MP for Busiki County Constituency and dismissed the petition.
She awarded costs to Azalwa but declined to award costs to the Electoral Commission. The judge said the commission had a statutory duty to ensure elections were conducted in a free and safe environment, but violence and chaos occurred at Budongo (A-I) Namutumba Primary School polling station.