Mubende Chief Magistrate Noorbert Ssajabi has dismissed, with costs, an application by Isaac Kamulegeya, the NRM flag bearer, seeking a vote recount in the Kassanda North Constituency parliamentary election.
Kamulegeya had contested the election, which saw Patrick Nsamba Oshabe of NUP declared winner with 12,274 votes, while Kamulegeya came second with 12,158 votes, a margin of 116 votes.
The court ruled that Kamulegeya failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify a recount, describing the petition as a “fishing expedition”.
Chief Magistrate Ssajabi emphasised that a recount is a limited statutory exercise intended to address numerical discrepancies, not allegations of non-compliance or electoral malpractices.
Kamulegeya had alleged that his agents were denied access to declaration of results forms from four parishes, and that the votes from those areas would have altered the final outcome in his opponent’s favour.
However, the court found that Kamulegeya failed to provide concrete numerical data to support his claims.
‘In the application before me, no numerical discrepancies were demonstrated. The grounds raised relate to factual irregularities and non-compliance, matters that can only be resolved through an election petition,’ the magistrate noted.
The Electoral Commission opposed the application, stating that Kamulegeya had unequivocally lost the election and that the results were announced openly at the tally centre.
The dismissal of the petition effectively upholds Patrick Nsamba Oshabe as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Kassanda North Constituency.
Kamulegeya says he’s contented with the magistrate’s ruling and doesn’t intend to pursue an election petition unless advised otherwise by his legal team.