Former National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate for Masaka District Woman Member of Parliament Joanita Nalule has suffered a setback after the High Court rejected video evidence she sought to use in her petition challenging the victory of National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Joan Namutaawe.
Justice Rosette Comfort Kania, who is presiding over the petition at Masaka High Court, declined to admit the footage, citing a break in the chain of evidence and failure to meet the legal requirements for admitting electronic evidence. Nalule is seeking to overturn Namutaawe’s victory in the January 15, 2026 general elections, accusing her of electoral malpractice, including voter bribery and making derogatory remarks intended to damage her reputation during the campaign.
In her petition, filed through lawyer Ahmed Mukasa Kalule, Nalule alleges that Namutaawe and her agents bribed voters with money, sugar and bars of soap to influence their choice of candidate. She also accuses Namutaawe of using insulting language against her during the campaign, allegedly describing her as a witch, thief and murderer who did not deserve to hold public office.
While testifying before Justice Kania, Nalule said the alleged remarks turned voters against her, claiming she was booed and forced out of some campaign venues. Nalule sought to have video footage of the alleged insults, stored on a flash disk, admitted as evidence. She presented an English transcription prepared by the Makerere University Institute of Languages and Communication and a Senior Four student who allegedly recorded the video.
However, during cross-examination, Namutaawe’s lawyer, Samuel Ssekyewa, challenged the authenticity of the footage and questioned how it had been recorded. He insisted that the device used to capture the video be produced in court for examination. Justice Kania rejected the footage after finding that the requirements for admitting the electronic evidence had not been met.
With the video excluded, Nalule has continued to rely on allegations of electoral malpractice involving the Electoral Commission and claims of widespread voter bribery by Namutaawe and her agents. She alleges that the returning officer deliberately omitted results from at least five polling stations, arguing that their inclusion could change the final tally. Namutaawe was declared the winner with a margin of 505 votes.
Nalule has also presented three witnesses who claimed that they received sugar and bars of soap from Namutaawe’s agents on the eve of the election in an attempt to influence their votes. Ssekyewa dismissed the bribery allegations, questioning why Namutaawe’s agents would target people who, he argued, were neither residents nor registered voters in the areas where the alleged incidents occurred.
He also challenged the credibility of the allegations, noting that the witnesses had not presented video recordings or photographs of the items or evidence that the incidents had been reported to the relevant authorities. The hearing resumes this morning, when the court is expected to receive testimony from additional witnesses-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
