MASAKA — The High Court in Masaka has dismissed former Defence Minister Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja’s challenge to the election of Yusuf Kiruluuta Nkeretanyi as Kalungu East Member of Parliament.
Justice Joyce Kavuma dismissed the petition after finding that Ssempijja filed it outside the period allowed by law.
The ruling was read by Masaka Deputy Registrar Roy Karungi.
The court also held that it had no authority to extend the statutory period for filing an election petition. The petition was therefore dismissed without the court hearing the substantive allegations raised by Ssempijja.
Each party was ordered to meet its own costs.
Ssempijja, who contested the January 2026 election on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, had challenged Nkeretanyi’s victory over alleged irregularities in the election.
Nkeretanyi, who contested on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket, was declared the winner.
Before filing the High Court petition, Ssempijja had sought a recount at the Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court, where he raised concerns over discrepancies in Declaration of Results forms.
The recount process later ran into difficulties after some ballot boxes were found with broken or tampered seals.
Ssempijja subsequently pursued the matter through an election petition at the High Court.
Nkeretanyi challenged the petition on a preliminary point, arguing that it had been filed after the statutory deadline.
The court has now agreed with that objection.
The decision means the High Court has not made a finding on whether the alleged electoral irregularities occurred or whether they affected the outcome of the Kalungu East election.
The case was among a number of election disputes arising from the January 2026 polls being handled by the Masaka High Court circuit. Five judges were assigned to handle 21 election petitions in the circuit as hearings got underway.
The ruling comes as courts across Uganda continue to hear petitions filed by candidates challenging parliamentary and local government election results from the 2026 elections.
