Politics 15 October 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Court Mandates Police Forensics to Defend Findings in Magoola Election Case
The High Court in Kampala has ordered two police forensic officers to personally appear and explain their findings regarding disputed declaration of results forms in an election petition. The petition challenges the victory of Busiro East County MP Emmanuel Matovu Magoola. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/court-orders-police-forensic-officers-to-defend-findings-in-magoola-election-petition-5633712
The High Court in Kampala has directed two Uganda Police forensic officers, Clare Hashikamana and Erisa Sebuwufu, to present themselves before the court. They are tasked with defending their forensic analysis of contested declaration of results (DR) forms, which are central to an election petition challenging the win of Busiro East County MP Emmanuel Matovu Magoola.
Justice George Okello has given MP Magoola’s legal team a final chance to submit affidavits from these officers by October 22, 2026. National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Abdul Kiyimba, who filed the petition, will have until October 26 to respond. The substantive hearing is slated for October 29 and 30.
This directive follows a previous session where Magoola’s lawyers revealed that over 130 DR forms submitted by Kiyimba had been sent to the Directorate of Forensic Services for verification. The defense had raised concerns about the authenticity of these documents, questioning if they were genuine Electoral Commission records. At that point, only a partial forensic report had been received.
Magoola’s lawyer, Abdul Katuntu, informed the court that the forensic reports were attached to an affidavit in rejoinder. However, the officers were reportedly unavailable to swear affidavits due to their involvement in other election petition cases nationwide. Justice Okello emphasized that the officers must personally defend their conclusions in court, rather than relying solely on the submitted reports.
The disputed DR forms are critical to the petition, with both parties presenting different sets of documents to support their claims regarding the January parliamentary election results. The Electoral Commission initially declared Magoola, an independent candidate, the winner with 45,625 votes over Kiyimba’s 28,499. Kiyimba, however, contests this, asserting that certified copies of DR forms he obtained indicate he won the election.