Court Allows Newspaper, Email Service in Petition Against Persis Namuganza

IGANGA: The High Court in Iganga has cleared the way for an election petition against State Minister Persis Namuganza to move forward after allowing the petitioner to serve her through alternative means.

In a ruling delivered on April 13, Justice Batema N.D.A approved an ex-parte request by Maganda Emmanuel Katoko to serve the petition via a widely circulated newspaper and the minister’s personal email, after repeated efforts to reach her in person failed.

Court records show that attempts to serve Namuganza at her known residences in Ivukula “A” Cell in Namutumba District and in Butamoga Village on April 1 were unsuccessful. Another effort the following day to reach her at the Ministry of Lands offices in Kampala also yielded no results.

Katoko argued that all reasonable steps had been taken to locate and serve the respondent, but without success — making substituted service the only practical option.

Justice Batema agreed, noting that the applicant had demonstrated sufficient effort under the law.

“The court is satisfied that all reasonable steps were taken to effect service, but these efforts were unsuccessful,” the judge ruled, relying on affidavits filed in support of the application.

The judge also addressed the timing of the application, which had been questioned. While the law requires such applications to be filed within three days, that window fell over the Easter holidays.

The court found that filing on April 7 — the next working day after Easter Monday — was still within the legal timeframe.

With that, the court directed that notice of the petition be published in either the Daily Monitor or New Vision within seven days. The issue of legal costs will be handled as part of the main petition.

The ruling highlights the court’s effort to keep election disputes moving forward, even when procedural hurdles — like failed service attempts or public holidays — get in the way. The case will proceed once service is completed as ordered.