By The High Court has dismissed an application by Kawempe North MP Elias Nalukoola seeking permission to cross-examine all 31 witnesses presented by his political rival, Faridah Nambi of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), in an ongoing election petition.
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The case stems from the disputed March 13 by-election, in which Nalukoola, running under the National Unity Platform (NUP), defeated Nambi with 17,764 votes to her 8,593. The NRM rejected the results, alleging electoral malpractice, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation.
Speaking to journalists outside court, Nambi’s legal team welcomed the court’s ruling, describing the application as a delay tactic. “This morning, the court has dismissed Nalukoola’s application for leave to appeal against its decision disallowing cross-examination of our witnesses,” one of Nambi’s lawyers said.
According to the legal team, the court found no justification for the cross-examination since the central claim in the petition the lack of results from 14 polling stations was uncontested by both Nalukoola and the Electoral Commission. “In his defense, Nalukoola admitted there were no results from those 14 polling stations. So did the Electoral Commission. There was no dispute on this issue,” the lawyer explained.
The court also rejected Nalukoola’s attempt to appeal the ruling, noting that election petition law does not permit appeals on interlocutory decisions rulings made during the process until the full petition is heard and determined.
With the application dismissed, the court directed that the hearing proceed without further delay. Nambi’s legal team is expected to present its witnesses over the next two days, with Nalukoola’s defense scheduled to begin Thursday.
“This matter is being handled by Rule 13 of the Parliamentary Election Petitions Rules, which requires petitions to be concluded within 30 days of commencement,” the lawyers said, adding that the hearing began on April 30, giving the court 18 days to conclude all proceedings, including final submissions and judgment.
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