news 5 June 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Retired Judge Slams Magistrate Over Masaka MP Vote Recount "Inconsistency"
A retired Supreme Court Judge has criticized a magistrate for inconsistent application of electoral laws during a controversial vote recount for the Masaka City Woman MP seat. The recount led to the declaration of Justine Nameere as the winner, overturning the initial results. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/retired-supreme-court-judge-faults-magistrate-over-controversial-nameere-vote-recount-5486728
Retired Supreme Court Judge Eldad Mwangusya has voiced strong reservations about the conduct of Chief Magistrate Abert Asiimwe in the disputed vote recount for the Masaka City Woman MP election. Justice Mwangusya highlighted a significant inconsistency in the magistrate’s decisions, questioning why a recount was authorized in Justine Nameere’s application when similar requests in other cases with comparable grounds were previously denied.
“In the other Masaka case, the magistrate said no, no, no…the jurisprudence has to change, and we should recount. But why do you refuse to recount in one and you recount in another? That is where the problem was,” Justice Mwangusya stated during a judicial training session in Kampala. The training focused on handling election appeals.
The Masaka City Woman MP vote recount, which followed the January 2026 General Election, remains a deeply contentious electoral exercise. Following the recount, Chief Magistrate Asiimwe declared NRM candidate Justine Nameere the victor, superseding the Electoral Commission’s initial declaration of NUP’s Rose Nalubowa.
Critics noted that this decision appeared to deviate from established legal precedents, particularly those from over two decades ago, which generally suggest that ballot boxes with broken seals should not be subjected to recounts due to potential compromise of integrity. This was compounded by the fact that Magistrate Asiimwe had reportedly refused recounts in at least two earlier applications under similar circumstances where seals were found broken.
Rose Nalubowa has since lodged a petition with the High Court challenging the recount’s outcome, a case that is still pending. The judiciary is currently preparing to address a significant number of election petitions filed after the recent general elections, underscoring the critical role of timely and fair adjudication in maintaining public trust in democratic institutions.
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