The Mubende Magistrate’s Court has nullified the earlier declaration of Fred Tumwesigye as Member of Parliament for Buweekula South Constituency and instead declared National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Dedan Mubangizi the duly elected legislator following a vote recount.
While delivering the ruling, Chief Magistrate Noah Ssajjabbi explained that the decision followed a comprehensive recount exercise ordered by the court.
“A recount exercise was carried out by this court. A total of 89 ballot boxes for Buweekula South Constituency were verified, found to be sealed, and each box was reopened after confirmation that the seals were intact,” Ssajjabbi said.
He told court that the contents of each ballot box were examined, with particular attention paid to the ballot papers and votes cast.
“Upon examining all the 89 ballot boxes from the 89 polling stations and counting all the votes found in the respective ballot boxes, I have completed the tally, and these are the results,” Ssajjabbi stated.
According to the final tally, National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Edward Ssempiira received 1,878 votes, Dedan Mubangizi obtained 7,908 votes, while Fred Tumwesigye garnered 7,505 votes.
Based on these results, Ssajjabbi declared Mubangizi the winner of the election.
“This implies that Dedan Mubangizi received the highest number of votes in the recount, and I accordingly, under the law, declare him the winner of the election through the recount and the rightful Member of Parliament for Buweekula South,” he ruled.
Speaking to the Nile Post after the ruling, Mubangizi welcomed the court’s decision, describing it as fair and just.
“Today we are very excited, and we want to thank all our supporters in Buweekula South because we have finally gotten justice,” Mubangizi said.
He added that his team was satisfied with the recount process, noting that all polling stations were subjected to scrutiny.
“We are glad that we satisfied court. All the 89 polling stations went through a recount box by box, and we are happy and committed to continuing to serve the people of Buweekula South,” he said.
Tumwesigye, the independent candidate who had initially been declared winner, rejected the court’s decision and announced plans to pursue further legal action.
“Considering the foregoing, I have formally instructed my legal team from Paul Ssebunya and Company Advocates to seek a police investigation into apparent electoral fraud and tampering with election materials so that the truth may be independently established and those responsible, if any, held accountable,” Tumwesigye said.
Earlier, the Mubende District Returning Officer, Ferdinand Tumwesigye Mulekezi, had declared Tumwesigye the winner with 8,804 votes, followed by Mubangizi with 7,998 votes, while Edward Ssempiira of NUP had received 1,915 votes.
