Kampala, Uganda: The High Court in Kampala has dismissed a petition filed by Busiro East parliamentary aspirant Mathias Walukagga, upholding the Electoral Commission’s decision to cancel his nomination over lack of the minimum academic qualifications required at the time of nomination.
In a judgment delivered on December 21, 2025, Justice Simon Peter Kinobe ruled that Walukagga’s Mature Age/Aptitude Test certificate had expired before the nomination date and could not lawfully support his candidacy for a parliamentary seat.
Walukagga was nominated on October 23, 2025, to contest for the Busiro East Constituency seat in Wakiso District, currently held by veteran lawyer and legislator Medard Sseggona.
His nomination was challenged by a registered voter, John Lubowa Kilimiro, who petitioned the Electoral Commission, arguing that the Kyengera Town Council Mayor lacked the academic qualifications required to contest for Parliament.
Following hearings conducted in November 2025, the Electoral Commission ruled on November 25 that Walukagga’s Mature Age/Aptitude Test certificate, issued by the Islamic University in Uganda on June 12, 2023, had expired on June 12, 2025, four months before his nomination. The Commission subsequently cancelled his nomination.
Walukagga petitioned the High Court, accusing the Electoral Commission of acting illegally and without jurisdiction. He argued that his Mature Age certificate had been equated to Advanced Level standard by the National Council for Higher Education on June 11, 2025, and that this equivalence satisfied the legal academic requirements.
He further relied on a November 11, 2025 letter from IUIU stating that a Mature Age certificate remains valid if used to enrol for further studies. Walukagga told court that he enrolled at St. Lawrence University in August 2023, where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration.
The Electoral Commission, however, maintained that the law limits the validity of a Mature Age certificate to two years from the date of issuance and that the certificate had expired by the time of nomination.
In his ruling, Justice Kinobe agreed with the Commission, holding that while NCHE has the mandate to equate academic qualifications, the Electoral Commission has constitutional and statutory authority to determine whether a candidate meets the qualifications at the time of nomination.
“The question before the Electoral Commission was whether the academic credentials presented by the petitioner were valid for purposes of nomination,” the judge stated.
The court found that Walukagga’s certificate expired on June 12, 2025, while nomination took place on October 23, 2025. “From the above timeline, I note that the petitioner’s only qualification had expired by nomination date, rendering both the certificate and NCHE equivalence invalid,” Justice Kinobe ruled.
The judge further held that IUIU’s letter suggesting conditional validity could not override the clear provisions of the law.
On jurisdiction, the court rejected Walukagga’s argument that the Electoral Commission lacked authority to entertain the complaint, citing Article 61(1)(f) of the Constitution, which empowers the Commission to hear and determine pre-election complaints.
In his final orders, Justice Kinobe dismissed Walukagga’s appeal and upheld the cancellation of his nomination but declined to award costs to the respondents, noting that the matter raised issues of public importance.
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