The Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court has overturned the earlier declaration of National Unity Platform (NUP)’s Rose Nalubowa as the Woman Member of Parliament for Masaka City, instead declaring National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s Justine Nameere the duly elected winner following a court-supervised vote recount.
Nalubowa had initially been declared winner by the Electoral Commission on January 16, 2026, after polling 25,443 votes.
She defeated Nameere, who had garnered 20,334 votes, Democratic Front (DF) candidate Juliet Kakande with 6,343 votes, and independent candidate Sauya Nanyonga, who received 6,196 votes.
“I therefore declare Rose Nalubowa of the National Unity Platform as the duly elected Woman Member of Parliament for Masaka City,” Masaka City Returning Officer Nadduli said while announcing the original results.
The declaration was, however, immediately challenged by Nameere, who petitioned the Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court through her lawyers, citing irregularities in the tallying process.
At the centre of the petition was the claim that although Masaka City has 314 polling stations, results from only 303 polling stations were included in the final tally, effectively excluding votes from 11 polling stations.
The omission, Nameere argued, materially affected the outcome of the election and warranted judicial intervention.
On Friday, January 30, 2026, Masaka Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe ordered a full recount of votes from all 314 polling stations.
While issuing the order, the magistrate issued a stern warning regarding the condition and integrity of the ballot boxes.
“The law is very clear. If any ballot box is found tampered with or unsealed, I will halt the recount immediately,” Asiimwe cautioned.
As the recount commenced, ballot boxes were unpacked under court supervision. During this process, one ballot box, opened toward the end of the exercise, was found unsealed.
Despite the discovery, the magistrate ruled that the recount would proceed.
“This is only one ballot box. It represents less than one percent of all the ballot boxes before us. One irregularity cannot stop the recount of the remaining ballot boxes,” he ruled.
The recount exercise, presided over personally by Magistrate Asiimwe, lasted 48 hours and stretched over three days and nights. As the process unfolded, several anomalies emerged. One ballot box was found open, seven ballot boxes contained no ballots at all, and two ballot boxes contained ballot papers cast exclusively in favour of Justine Nameere.
After considering these findings, the magistrate ruled that all such ballot boxes would be excluded from the recount on the basis that they could not be relied upon to reflect valid voter intent.
At exactly 11:30 a.m. on February 1, 2026, Asiimwe delivered the final recount figures. Independent candidate Sauya Nanyonga received 5,921 votes, down from her initial 6,196.
DF’s Juliet Kakande obtained 6,136 votes, compared to her earlier total of 6,343. Nalubowa’s tally fell to 23,176 votes from the original 25,443.
Nameere, on the other hand, emerged with 25,502 votes, an increase from her initial 20,334 votes.
On the basis of the revised tally, the court declared Nameere the winner, having obtained the highest number of valid votes.
Before announcing the final outcome, the magistrate defended his decision to proceed with the recount despite the irregularities identified during the exercise, saying the overriding objective was to uphold justice and give effect to the will of the electorate.
“I proceeded with this recount to ensure that the people of Masaka get their rightful Woman Member of Parliament. Despite the irregularities discovered, the law must mature. This court has set a new precedent,” Asiimwe said.
He also addressed criticism directed at him on social media over his handling of the recount.
“I have seen many people on social media abusing me for proceeding with the recount even after finding tampered ballot boxes. They forget that the law evolves, and justice must be served,” he added.
Speaking to supporters after being declared winner, Nameere described the court decision as divinely guided and pledged to serve the people of Masaka City.
“This victory is God-sent. I promise to work tirelessly for the people of Masaka and to represent them with integrity,” she said.
She further remarked that the legal contest between her and Nalubowa would become a reference point in Uganda’s electoral jurisprudence.
“People should now begin discussing the Nameere versus Nalubowa case the same way they discuss landmark cases such as Ngoma Ngime versus the Electoral Commission and Winnie Byanyima,” she said.
The ruling is expected to generate debate across the political divide, with legal analysts closely watching whether the decision will be challenged in higher courts.
