NAKASEKE — The political heat surrounding the Nakaseke Central Constituency parliamentary seat has intensified after incumbent Member of Parliament Allan Mayanja Ssebunya officially submitted a petition detailing irregularities across 31 specific polling stations and demanding the nullification of the recently concluded election results.
Mayanja, who is seeking to retain his seat after a fiercely contested race, filed the election petition at Luwero High Court arguing that the conduct of the electoral process at these 31 stations was fundamentally flawed, rendering the final tally illegitimate.
Kabuye Kyofa the State Minister for Kampala City and Metropolitan Affairs defeated Mayanja after garnering 13742 votes and incumbent received only 8298 votes.
But Mayanja contested the results and through his legal team of M/S Lukwago and Company advocates, he has filed a petition outlining a series of alleged electoral malpractices which favoured Kyofa to win the seat.
The MP highlighted discrepancies where the number of votes cast at certain stations inexplicably exceeded the number of verified voters who checked in, suggesting ballot stuffing.
In his petition, Mayanja said that results were altered in favour of Kyofa and that Electoral Commission failed to declare the proper results.
He alleges that through such malpractices, results from 20 polling stations mentioned in the petition indicate that Kyofa polled 2077 votes but was declared with 5717 votes after earning an extra of 3640 votes.
Mayanja alleges that such irregulaties were committed at polling stations that include Ntalajji,Kyasampanga,Mijumwa, Magoma Primary School (NAK-Z), Wakayamba ,Buswagiro Public School,Abundant Life Church,Mild Care Parents School and Katooke
Other polling stations cited in the petition are Kabaale, Masgid Taqwa Nakkonge , Balitta, Butalangu Kisaawe, Nabisojjo, Kagango-Kiswagga , Bwami , Kyaluweesi and Kagango others which he claims that the results were altered in favour of Kyofa before declaring him as the winner .
In the petition, Mayanja claims that at Mityomere Primary School Polling Station, Kyofa initially got 392 votes but was awarded 430 and petitioner received 23 votes.
Whereas at Mijumwa polling station, Kyofa got 74 votes against petitioner’s 68 votes but the former was later given 280 votes. The petitioner votes were reduced to 10 votes.
The petition highlights staggering numerical discrepancies across multiple polling stations. At Kyasampanga polling station, the petitioner initially received 200 votes compared to Kyofa’s 108, but the results were allegedly altered to declare Kyofa the winner with 360 votes.
Similarly, at Wakayamba polling station, Kyofa’s initial 92 votes were allegedly inflated to 300, overriding the petitioner’s legitimate 149 votes.
The pattern continued at Ntalajji polling station—where Ssebunya cast his ballot—where the petitioner originally won with 166 votes to Kyofa’s 91, only for the results to allegedly be doctored to award Kyofa 260 votes.
Furthermore, at Katooke polling station, the initial tally showed a tie of 112 votes each for Ssebunya and Kyofa, but the results were allegedly manipulated to declare Kyofa the winner with 212 votes.
Furthermore, the petitioner has challenged the highly suspicious 100% voter turnout recorded at several polling stations, specifically naming Kalagala-Kalungu, Kirinda, Bwami, Kabaale, Nabisojjo, and Kiswaga.
Ssebunya also flagged a critical discrepancy, noting that the final results declared by the District Returning Officer do not match the figures officially published in the Uganda Gazette.
As a result, Ssebunya is asking the court to rule that the Electoral Commission failed to comply with the Electoral Commission Act (Cap 176), the Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap 179), and the overarching principles governing free and fair elections. He argues that these failures compromised the integrity of the poll in a substantial manner.
Consequently, Ssebunya has petitioned the Luwero High Court to overturn Kyofa’s victory and declare him as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Nakaseke Central.
On Tuesday 7th April this year,The Deputy Registrar of the Luwero High Court directed Minister Kabuye Kyofa and Electoral Commission to file his defense within ten days of receiving the petition.
This development sets the stage for a high-stakes legal battle. The burden of proof now lies heavily on Mayanja’s legal team to provide evidence, witness testimonies and other information to substantiate their claims before the court.
Mayanja has already informed Court that he is ready to submit more evidence to back his claims in the court.
Hearings on the petition are expected to commence in the coming weeks, with the political future of Nakaseke Central now hanging in the court.
