Uganda Court: 97 Affidavits Struck Out in Election Petition

Justice Flavia Nabakooza ruled that the affidavits, filed months after Rubongoya lodged his petition, were irregularly introduced without the required leave of court. The court also struck out Rubongoya's complaint that 23 polling stations in Nakasero II and Kololo II were located in restricted security areas, holding that the matter should have been raised with the Electoral Commission before the January 15, 2026 election. However, the judge declined to remove other pre-election complaints concerning Kabanda's nomination, academic qualifications and differences in her names, finding that Rubongoya could not practically have raised those matters before polling because he only obtained the relevant certified documents after the election. The ruling followed two applications filed by Kabanda and the Electoral Commission, which were consolidated by the court on October 1, 2026. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines The applications sought, among other orders, the removal of pre-election complaints from the petition and the expunging of the 97 affidavits from the court record. Rubongoya challenged Kabanda's election after she was declared winner of the Kampala Central Division parliamentary seat following the January 15 election. Among the grounds in his petition were allegations concerning Kabanda's nomination, academic qualifications, differences in her names and the location of some polling stations. Kabanda argued that the complaints relating to her nomination and qualifications were pre-election disputes that should have been taken to the Electoral Commission before polling. Rubongoya, however, told court that he had attempted to obtain Kabanda's nomination documents before the election but was unable to access them. He said the Electoral Commission only provided the documents on February 26, 2026, more than a month after polling, making it impossible for him to raise the complaints before the election. Justice Nabakooza agreed with Rubongoya on this point. The judge found that the certified public documents relied upon by Rubongoya were only issued on February 26, after the January 15 election. She therefore concluded that the complaints concerning Kabanda's nomination, academic qualifications and name variations could not practically or legally have been dealt with as pre-election disputes. The court declined to strike those grounds from the petition. The judge reached a different conclusion regarding the disputed polling stations. Rubongoya complained that 23 polling stations in Nakasero II and Kololo II were located within restricted security areas, creating what he described as an intimidating environment for voters and candidates' agents and making it difficult to challenge alleged electoral irregularities. Justice Nabakooza noted, however, that the Electoral Commission's voter register, issued on December 15, 2025, had already identified Nakasero II and Kololo II as electoral areas before polling. The judge found that Rubongoya was aware of the arrangement but did not lodge a complaint with the Electoral Commission before polling day. Relying on previous Court of Appeal decisions, she held that a complaint over the location of a polling station is a matter that should first be challenged before an election. The court therefore struck out that ground from the petition. 97 affidavits expunged Rubongoya filed the election petition on March 30, 2026, accompanied by an affidavit. Kabanda and the Electoral Commission subsequently filed their answers. Rubongoya later filed dozens of additional affidavits, including 97 in June and another in August. He argued that the additional affidavits contained evidence gathered from voters, polling agents and officials across the constituency and had been filed before the scheduling conference. His lawyers maintained that the 30-day deadline under the law applied to the filing of the petition and its accompanying affidavit, rather than every affidavit the petitioner m