Court throws Gomba East MP out of Parliament
The judge declared the seat of the directly elected Member of Parliament for Gomba East County, Gomba district, vacant and ordered the Electoral Commission to organise a new election.
Saazi was declared the winner with 10,907 votes against Kirumira’s 9,156, giving him a margin of 1,751 votes. (File photo)
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The High Court in Mpigi has nullified the election of Gomba East County Member of Parliament Godfrey Saazi of National Unity Platform and ordered the Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh election after finding that irregularities at 13 polling stations substantially affected the outcome.
In a judgment delivered on October 26, 2026, Justice Jamson Karemani ruled that the failure to include results from four polling stations in the final tally and the failure to secure the electoral process at nine other polling stations amounted to non-compliance with electoral laws.
The judge declared the seat of the directly elected Member of Parliament for Gomba East County, Gomba district, vacant and ordered the Electoral Commission to organise a new election.
The court also ordered each party to bear its own costs.
The petition was filed by Henry Harris Kalule Kirumira of the National Resistance Movement, who challenged Saazi’s victory in the January 15, 2026, parliamentary election.
Saazi was declared the winner with 10,907 votes against Kirumira’s 9,156, giving him a margin of 1,751 votes.
Kirumira argued that the election was not conducted in accordance with the Constitution, the Electoral Commission Act, and the Parliamentary Elections Act because results from 13 polling stations were not included in the final tally.
Four of the affected polling stations were; Buyana Trading Centre, Tiginya SDA Primary School, Kiziba Trading Centre (NAKE-Z) and Buyinja Butoole Primary School B (Kigongo-Lugingi).
According to the evidence before court, voting, counting and declaration of results had taken place at the four polling stations, but their results were omitted from the final tally sheet.
The judge found that the omission amounted to non-compliance with electoral laws because the returning officer was required to tally votes from all polling stations before declaring the winner.
However, the judge observed that adding the results from the four polling stations would not, on its own, have changed the winner.
The declaration of results forms showed that Kirumira obtained 453 votes from the four stations, while Saazi received 366 votes.
When the votes were added, Kirumira’s total number of votes increased to 9,609, while Saazi’s rose to 11,273, reducing the winning margin from 1,751 to 1,664 votes.
“The non-compliance by not adding them to the final results did not affect the outcome in a substantial manner,” Karemani ruled.
The judge, however, found that the situation at the other nine polling stations had a substantial effect on the election outcome.
The affected stations were; Ttaba Trading Centre, Buyebeyi Church of Uganda, Kimbo Catholic Church (A-NAKA), Kimbo Catholic Church (NAKE-Z), Serumbe UMEA Primary School A (Golola A), Jumbi Church of Uganda, Serumbe UMEA Primary School B (Kibaka), Kindimunda Playground and St Peter Primary School-Ngeribalya.
Evidence before court indicated that polling was disrupted and electoral materials were destroyed, leaving no results to be included in the final tally.
The nine polling stations had 4,387 registered voters whose votes were not ascertained.
The judge noted that the evidence from both sides did not establish who orchestrated the chaos that led to the destruction of electoral materials. He said the destruction could not be attributed to any of the candidates.
“The Electoral Commission failed on its part to ensure that there were secure conditions necessary for the conduct of a free and fair election in the nine polling stations,” the judge ruled.
In assessing the effect of the irregularities, the judge considered the 1,664-vote margin remaining after accounting for the results from the four polling stations against the 4,387 registered voters at the nine stations where no results were obtained.
Although it could not be established how many of the registered voters had turned up or how they would have voted, the judge found that the number of affected voters was significant in relation to the winning margin.
“I do find that the above non-compliance with the electoral laws and principles laid down in holding elections affected the outcome of the election for the directly elected member of parliament for Gomba East County Constituency in a substantial manner,” he ruled.
The judge consequently set aside Saazi’s election and ordered a fresh poll.
The petitioner also raised allegations that Saazi personally obstructed voters at Male Emmanuel Compound polling station, contrary to section 90 of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
However, the court found no proof that Saazi personally committed the alleged election offence or that the disruption at the nine polling stations was attributable to him.
The court, therefore, based its decision to nullify the election on non-compliance with electoral laws and its substantial effect on the outcome.
Kirumira was represented by lawyers; Jude Byamukama and Patience Babiwemba, while Saazi was represented by Joseph Kyazze and David Ddungu.
The returning officer and the Electoral Commission were represented by Paul Karenga and Travis Namanya.