Jinja's High Court has confirmed Abdulhafidh Nagaya as the legitimate mayor of Jinja City, bringing an end to a closely watched election petition that had threatened to overturn the outcome of the January 22, 2026 general elections.
In a judgment delivered on November 5, 2026, Justice Vincent Wagona dismissed the petition filed by National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Edirisa Kirunda Mubarak, even as he acknowledged that irregularities had marred the vote count.
Irregularities Acknowledged but Not Decisive
The court established that 323 votes had been unlawfully added to Nagaya's tally. Of these, 223 were attributed to East Secondary School (N-Z) polling station, while another 100 were traced to Masese I (BO-KAS)-Lakeside Parkyard.
Justice Wagona also found that results from nine polling stations had been left out of the final declaration, despite voting having taken place at most of those sites. These findings painted a picture of a flawed tallying process, but the judge ruled that the errors were not substantial enough to alter the overall result.
According to the final tally, Nagaya, who ran on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, secured 17,266 votes against Kirunda's 15,783.
Electoral Commission Admits Data Entry Errors
During the proceedings, Electoral Commission returning officer Flavia Nakasi conceded that the discrepancies stemmed from data-entry mistakes. She explained that tally clerks had made errors while transferring figures from the declaration of results forms onto the results tally sheet.
While the admission raised questions about the accuracy of the count, the court ultimately determined that the mistakes did not meet the legal threshold for annulling an election.
What Kirunda Sought
Kirunda had asked the court to set aside Nagaya's declaration and return, and to direct the Electoral Commission to organize a fresh mayoral election for Jinja City. That request has now been rejected.
The ruling means Nagaya will continue to serve as mayor, though the judgment leaves lingering questions about the integrity of vote tallying in the city. For now, the court's decision closes a contentious chapter in Jinja's electoral history, but the irregularities documented in the ruling may fuel ongoing debate about the need for tighter safeguards in future elections.
