Kamuli, Uganda: A dramatic attempt to recount votes in the Kamuli Municipality parliamentary election collapsed on Wednesday after the High Court ordered the immediate recall of the case file, barely hours after the Chief Magistrate had sanctioned the exercise amid heavy security deployment and rising political tension.
The aborted recount followed an application by incumbent MP Baroda Kayanga Watongola against the Electoral Commission and rival candidate Mastula Namatovu, seeking court orders directing a recount of votes cast in the January 16, 2026 parliamentary polls.
Presiding over the matter, Abdonson Owino ruled that a recount be conducted immediately, ordering the Electoral Commission to produce all election materials before court on February 3, 2026.
“Dissatisfied with the election results, citing errors and discrepancies in the declaration, where votes cast did not tally with those declared, she sought orders of this court for a recount,” Owino ruled, noting that the applicant had been declared with 3,353 votes against Namatovu’s 8,582.
The ruling triggered jubilation among Kayanga’s supporters and protests from Namatovu’s camp, prompting heightened security deployment around Kamuli Magistrates Court. Kamuli District Police Commander Henry Mugarura said reinforcement was necessary given the charged political atmosphere.
“In a highly charged political situation like this one where it is public versus law, we can’t take security for granted. We have to measure up to the task,” Mugarura said, adding that deployment had been extended across the municipality.
However, barely two hours later — and after a standoff between the Chief Magistrate and the Kamuli Returning Officer over the handling and transportation of election materials — the High Court of Uganda intervened.
In a directive issued by Robert Mukanza, the Jinja High Court Circuit ordered the Kamuli court to immediately forward the file for disposal by a High Court judge.
“Following Miscellaneous Cause No. 005 of 2026, Kayanga Baroda versus Electoral Commission and Namatovu, pursuant to a revision application lodged against the order for a vote recount, you are directed to immediately forward the said file for disposal before the Judge,” the letter read.
The High Court directive effectively halted the recount, cooling tensions at the court premises and prompting mixed reactions from both camps.
Speaking after the initial ruling, Kayanga said she was prepared to accept the final outcome of the recount, insisting that her application was intended to expose alleged irregularities rather than overturn the will of voters.
“I am ready for a transparent outcome and will accept whatever comes out of the recount. I cannot allow people to win fraudulently and then use hate campaigns to malign others,” Kayanga said.
Namatovu, however, welcomed the High Court’s intervention, accusing unnamed external forces of driving the recount bid and warning against internal divisions within the ruling party.
“It is unfortunate that top NRM leaders who should be championing unity stoop so low to oil their political egos,” Namatovu said, thanking Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga for what she described as her commitment to integrity and respect for the people’s will.
“Baroda rigged and defeated me with 345 votes previously and went to Parliament where she slept and forgot the constituents. I remained with the people, and they showed her the exit with a difference of 5,000 votes. Still she comes to antagonise the will of voters,” Namatovu said.
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