The High Court in Masaka has dismissed an election petition filed by former Defence Minister Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, challenging the election of Yusuf Kiruluuta Nkeretanyi as Member of Parliament for Kalungu East.
Ssempijja, who contested the January 2026 parliamentary election on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket, had asked court to overturn Kiruluuta’s victory, citing alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
The case, however, faced a preliminary challenge from Kiruluuta’s legal team, which argued that Ssempijja’s petition had been filed outside the legally prescribed 30-day period for challenging parliamentary election results after gazetting.
The court had scheduled September 22, 2026, to rule on the preliminary objection and determine whether the petition could proceed to a substantive hearing.
With the petition now dismissed, the court will not proceed to hear the substantive allegations raised by Ssempijja in the election challenge.
Kiruluuta was declared winner of the Kalungu East seat after securing 15,473 votes, while Ssempijja obtained 13,219 votes, according to results reported after the election.
The dismissal brings to an end the latest legal challenge over the Kalungu East parliamentary seat, following an earlier attempt by Ssempijja to obtain a vote recount, which was also dismissed after concerns emerged over the condition of some ballot boxes.
