NAKAWA NOMINATION CASE: Court to Deliver Ruling Electronically

Kampala High Court has told lawyers representing the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) that its ruling in the disputed Nakawa Division West nomination case will be delivered through the Judiciary’s electronic system, following a scheduled court appearance on Wednesday.

The case, Election Petition No. HCT-00-CV-EP-0008-2025, was filed by Ivan Bwowe, who is challenging the nomination of seven rival aspirants and the role of the Electoral Commission in the process.

Bwowe argues that his rivals were nominated to contest in a constituency labelled “Nakawa West,” which he claims does not legally exist, insisting that only Nakawa Division West was gazetted for the 2025–2026 electoral cycle.

After court proceedings, NUP lawyer Erias Nalukoola said the opposition had expected fresh material from the petitioner but was instead informed that the matter was now awaiting a ruling.

“We came to court hoping that the petitioner Ivan Bwowe had something new to tender before court,” Nalukoola said.

“However, we were informed that the ruling would be sent electronically,” he told reporters outside court.

Bwowe is seeking declarations that the nominations of Happy Nasasira, Herbert Anderson Burora, Felix Okuye, Vincent Okumu, Joel Ssenyonyi, Wilberforce Kyambadde and Apuuli Rwamiti are illegal, null and void, and that he should be declared the only validly nominated candidate — and therefore unopposed — under Section 19(1) of the Parliamentary Elections Act.

One of the respondents, Herbert Anderson Burora, has previously dismissed the petition publicly, arguing that all candidates were duly verified, signed and stamped by the Electoral Commission and that the Commission could not have nominated candidates for a non-existent constituency.

The court’s decision, now expected via the electronic system, is anticipated to determine whether the Nakawa Division West race proceeds with multiple candidates or whether the nomination list will be altered ahead of the 2026 general elections.

The case unfolds amid broader tensions in the nomination process this election cycle, after several National Unity Platform candidates were denied nomination over issues including lack of required academic credentials and documentation.

The NUP has accused the Electoral Commission of deliberately blocking its candidates in favour of the ruling National Resistance Movement, a claim the electoral body has consistently denied, saying all nomination decisions are made strictly in accordance with the law.