Mbarara, Uganda | URN | The High Court in Mbarara has dismissed an election petition filed by Mbarara City North MP candidate Robert Mwesigwa Rukaari against MP-elect Christopher Bakashaba and the Electoral Commission, after finding that Rukaari failed to properly serve the respondents with court documents.
Rukaari, who contested as an independent candidate in the 15th January general election, had asked the court to nullify Bakashaba’s victory and declare him the rightful winner, arguing that Bakashaba was not qualified to stand for election due to alleged irregularities in his academic credentials.
He also sought Bakashaba’s prosecution over the same claims. However, Acting High Court Judge Gelase Kwemara Kafuuzi dismissed the petition, noting that the case could not proceed because the required legal documents were not properly delivered to the respondent within the set timeframe.
The judge found that the petitioner failed to demonstrate that Bakashaba was personally served with the petition or that reasonable steps were taken to ensure service was effected, making it impossible for the case to move forward.
Justice Kwemara dismissed the application with no costs for the reason that he was not satisfied by the application as required under Rule 6 (5) of S.I 141 -2 that he made reasonable efforts to serve the notice of the petition to justify issuance by this court of an order of substituted service.
Bakashaba, the NRM candidate, was declared the winner of the election with 50,478 votes, ahead of Rukaari, who polled 4,802 votes.
The Electoral Commission gazetted Bakashaba as the duly elected MP on 2 March 2026. With the petition dismissed on procedural grounds, Bakashaba’s election victory remains valid.
