The Mubende High Court has dismissed an application filed by independent candidate Fred Tumwesigye challenging a vote recount that overturned his earlier victory in Buweekula South Constituency and declared NRM’s Dedan Mubangizi the duly elected Member of Parliament.
Tumwesigye had sought a civil revision of the January 28, 2026 recount conducted by the Mubende Chief Magistrate’s Court, arguing through his lawyer Paul Ssebunya that the magistrate did not follow the law while handling the exercise.
He also asked the High Court to halt the gazettement of Mubangizi as winner.
The matter was heard by Justice Bonny Isaac Teko, who presided as a visiting judge and delivered his ruling via email on Saturday after earlier reserving judgment.
Tumwesigye’s legal team contended that the magistrate exceeded his jurisdiction and improperly handled issues that should be determined through an election petition.
However, lawyers Caleb Alaka and Evans Ochieng, representing Mubangizi, opposed the application, arguing that the magistrate acted within the confines of the law.
In his ruling, Justice Teko framed his decision around three key questions: whether the Chief Magistrate had jurisdiction to order the recount; whether he failed to exercise that jurisdiction properly; and whether he acted with irregularity or material irregularity occasioning injustice.
The judge found no evidence that the matters addressed during the recount were exclusively reserved for an election petition. He noted that election-related issues can evolve into petition matters depending on how they are articulated and at what stage they arise.
“In fact, all election matters from the beginning to the end can become matters of a petition depending on how they are articulated and at what stage in the process,” Justice Teko observed.
He added that it would be unrealistic to expect a magistrate conducting a recount to avoid touching on borderline issues that could later form part of a petition.
“In this instance, I have reviewed all the records and seen that the matters alleged to be extra-jurisdictional were only mentioned in the applicant’s affidavit in support but were not pursued in the application or addressed in the ruling by the magistrate. He never went into resolving them and thus kept within his jurisdiction,” the judge stated.
Justice Teko concluded that there was no illegality, material irregularity or injustice in the way the Chief Magistrate’s Court conducted the recount.
He advised Tumwesigye to file an election petition under Section 80 of the Parliamentary Elections Act if he believes there was any injustice.
He dismissed the application for civil revision and ordered that each party bears its own costs.
Following the recount, Dedan Mubangizi polled 7,908 votes against Tumwesigye’s 7,505, securing victory by a margin of 403 votes.
