Court upholds Ochai’s four-vote win in West Budama North

________________

The Tororo Chief Magistrate’s Court has upheld the victory of Max Ochai as the duly elected Member of Parliament for West Budama North County in Tororo district.

Chief Magistrate Irene Nambatya on Thursday (January 29) dismissed an application filed by Ochai’s rival, Richard Othieno Okoth, which sought a recount of all ballot boxes across the entire West Budama North constituency.

Ochai garnered 12,259 votes against Okoth’s 12,255, winning by a narrow margin of four votes in the January 15 parliamentary elections.

In her ruling, Nambatya said the application lacked merit, noting that it was unreasonable to order a recount of the entire constituency when the margin between the two candidates was only four votes.

"Court cannot be called upon to scrutinise all the entire ballot boxes, and it is not possible to send the chief magistrate for a vote hunting exhibition. This application lacks merit, and it's therefore dismissed," Nambatya ruled.

Ochai was not present in court and was represented by his lawyers.

The ruling triggered celebrations among Ochai’s supporters, including the chairperson of the NRM electoral commission, Dr Frederick Tanga Odoi.

In an interview after the ruling, Okoth welcomed the decision but criticised his lawyers for filing what he described as an erroneous and impractical application seeking a recount across the entire constituency.

Okoth said his legal team mishandled the case by failing to heed his advice to request a recount at only four contested polling stations.

He, however, vowed to file a substantive petition in the High Court to challenge Ochai’s victory once the results are gazetted.

Okoth said he believes he has a strong case and is confident of success in the High Court.

Dr Tanga said he was not surprised by the ruling, describing the case as straightforward.

He added that he would continue to defend all NRM flag bearers.