Court throws out ex-minister Ssempijja's election petition
Ssempijja had challenged the election of Yusuf Junior Kiruluuta Nkerettanyi as the Member of Parliament for Kalungu East Constituency, with the Electoral Commission as the second respondent.
Ssempijja, a Senior Presidential Adviser, is a seasoned politician who formerly served as Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs and Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. (Credit: Dismus Buregyeya)
MASAKA - The High Court in Masaka has struck out an election petition filed by former Kalungu East parliamentary candidate Vincent Frerrio Bamulangaki Ssempijja, after finding that it was lodged one day outside the statutory 30-day period.
Ssempijja, a Senior Presidential Adviser, is a seasoned politician who formerly served as Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs and Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
Justice Joyce Kavuma dismissed Ssempijja’s application seeking to have the petition deemed to have been filed on time or for an extension of one day to validate the petition.
Ssempijja had challenged the election of Yusuf Junior Kiruluuta Nkerettanyi as the Member of Parliament for Kalungu East Constituency, with the Electoral Commission as the second respondent.
The election was held on January 15, 2026, with Kiruluuta declared the winner after obtaining 15,473 votes, while Ssempijja came second with 13,219 votes.
Ssempijja subsequently filed Election Petition No. 0016 of 2026 on April 2, 2026, alleging, among other irregularities, vote inflation and miscomputation, falsification of electoral results, tampering with electoral materials, violence, intimidation, multiple voting, voter impersonation and bribery.
His lawyers argued that the petition was presented at the court registry on April 1, 2026, which was the last day of the statutory period, but registry officials required payment of filing fees before the petition could be stamped.
They said the fees were assessed and paid on April 1, but the petition was stamped and lodged on April 2.
The team further argued that payment of the filing fees on April 1 demonstrated that the petition had been presented within time and asked the court to treat it as duly filed.
In the alternative, they asked the court to extend the filing period by one day, arguing that the delay resulted from an inadvertent mistake by Ssempijja’s former lawyers.
Kalungu East MP, Yusuf Nkeretanyi being carried by his joyful supporters after the court ruling. (Credit: Dismus Buregyeya)
However, Kiruluuta’s lawyers opposed the application, arguing that the 30-day period began running on March 3, 2026, after the results were gazetted, and expired on April 1.
They insisted that payment of filing fees could not substitute for the actual filing of the petition and that the court had no power to extend a statutory deadline.
In her ruling, Justice Kavuma found that the petition was filed on April 2, 2026, outside the statutory period.
The judge said Rule 5 of the Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Election Petitions Rules requires a petition to be presented to the registrar within 30 days and accompanied by the prescribed filing fee.
She noted that although the court fees had been paid on April 1, the court record showed that the petition itself was lodged on April 2.
The judge further noted that the payment was made at 9:11pm on April 1, while the Masaka High Court registry closed at 5:00pm.