IGANGA, UGANDA — In a dramatic courtroom twist that has reshaped the political landscape of Busoga, the High Court in Iganga has stripped independent legislator Stella Maris Nankwanga of her Bugweri District Woman Member of Parliament seat and handed the parliamentary mandate to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer, Aminah Mutesi Nalugoda.
Delivering the judgment on Friday, November 13, 2026, Justice Simon Peter Kinobe ruled that Nankwanga was legally ineligible to contest in the January 15 general election because she lacked the requisite academic qualifications at the time of her nomination.
The ruling brings a decisive end to Election Petition No. 2 of 2026, filed by Nalugoda on March 5 against both Nankwanga and the Electoral Commission. During the January polls, Nankwanga contesting as an independent candidate had narrowly edged out the NRM’s Nalugoda, polling 15,151 votes against Nalugoda’s 13,683 in a fiercely contested race that also saw incumbent NRM MP and singer-turned-politician Rachel Magoola unseated.
Disputed Credentials and the Electoral Commission
Justice Kinobe ruled that Nankwanga lacked valid academic papers at the time of nomination, noting she missed a mandatory National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) equivalence certificate for her nursing certificate and held an unaccredited public health diploma.
While Nankwanga later obtained a valid diploma, the court emphasized that post-nomination fixes cannot validate an ineligible candidacy.
The court also rebuked the Electoral Commission for failing to act on a pre-election complaint regarding Nankwanga’s papers, ordering Nankwanga and the Commission to equally share Nalugoda’s legal costs.
A Shift in Power for the NRM
With Nankwanga disqualified, Justice Kinobe declared Nalugoda who won the NRM party primaries in July 2025 before finishing as runner-up in the general election as the duly elected Woman MP for Bugweri District, ordering Nankwanga to vacate the seat.
The victory marks a major political comeback for Nalugoda, who had previously contested the Bugweri Woman MP seat in 2021 on the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) ticket before crossing over to the ruling party. Her court triumph reclaims the seat for the NRM and sparked immediate celebrations among party supporters across the district following a ten-month legal battle. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
