Judgment set for November in Bugabula South election petition
Justice Nakiganda said that after considering the written submissions, the judgment would be delivered through the Electronic Case Management System (ECMS).
Matayo Bazanya speaks after the court session, expressing confidence that he will retain his victory in the Bugabula South MP race. (Credit: Doreen Musingo)
_________________ Sanon Kaloli Dhizala, the petitioner in the Bugabula South MP election petition, speaks to New Vision Online at the court premises on Monday. (Credit: Doreen Musingo)
The Jinja High Court has set November 13, 2026, for judgment in an election petition challenging the election of Bugabula South Constituency Member of Parliament Bazanya Matayo.
Justice Aidah Nakiganda set the judgment date on September 21, 2026, after all parties concluded the hearing of the petition and were directed to file their final written submissions through their lawyers.
The court directed Dhizala to file his final submissions by September 25, 2026, while Bazanya was given until October 1, 2026, to respond.
The respondent was also directed to file submissions on objections by October 13, 2026.
“Once the judgment is ready, it will be sent to ECMS, then your respective lawyers will read and also deliver to you the information because you don’t have to return to court,” she said.
Dhizala, an independent candidate, sued Bazanya, a candidate of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), together with the Electoral Commission, alleging violence, vote rigging, bribery, intimidation and other irregularities.
He said the alleged irregularities involved the declaration of results forms, claiming that some were signed or handled by people he described as agents of the respondent.
He further alleged that his agents were removed from 82 of the 214 polling stations during the election.
“The 82 people whom we talked about in the petition were sent away from 82 polling stations instead of letting them protect my votes as deployed,” he said.
Speaking to New Vision, Bazanya said he was confident that the court would uphold his election, arguing that the petitioner had failed to substantiate some of the allegations contained in the petition.
Bazanya said some of the claims were based on hearsay and rumours.
“The petitioner denied whatever he stated in the petition. He told court that most of the things indicated in the petition were hearsay statements and rumours he got from different people and lacked evidence to present in court,” Bazanya said.
However, Dhizala said his legal team would rely on evidence contained in his affidavit and other affidavits filed in support of the petition.
Dhizala said the court had directed him to base his submissions on evidence presented during the hearing.
He also said the court had dealt with an objection concerning 12 additional affidavits filed after the petition but before scheduling, allowing them to remain on the court record based on a Supreme Court precedent.
The allegations by Dhizala are contained in the petition and remain subject to determination by the court, which will consider the evidence and final submissions before delivering its judgment on November 13, 2026.