By KT Reporter
Conservative Party’s Presidential candidate, Elton Joseph Mabirizi blocked the entrance of the High Court in Kampala after security operatives denied him access to the Constitutional Court.
Mabirizi said on Friday that he decided to camp at the High Court premises in protest, accusing the Constitutional Court of delaying fixing his petition on electoral reforms for hearing.
“The petition, which was filed last year, challenges the current electoral process in Uganda, but has never been allocated a hearing date despite several follow-up letters to the court.“Last year, we put a petition against the electoral process, but the court has not given us a day. It has not given it any attention. We have written several letters and received no response,” Mabirizi said.
Mabirizi noted that among the issues raised in his petition is the manner in which the Electoral Commission is constituted, referring to matters raised in the 2016 presidential election petition of Amama Mbabazi versus President Yoweri Museveni and the Electoral Commission.
He argues that the current system, where the leadership of the Electoral Commission is appointed, is unconstitutional and should be changed to allow Ugandans and other stakeholders to participate in electing the head of the commission.
Mabirizi further claimed that he has not been provided with the national voters’ register, questioning the credibility of elections conducted under what he described as unconstitutional arrangements.“Which kind of elections are we going to have when they are non-constitutional? Such elections are costly, dangerous, and keep being postponed,” he said.
A few hours later, Mabirizi, who had come with a mattress branded Justice Delayed is Justice denied later left the premises in his vehicle, saying he had waited at the gate for more than two hours.
He was in the company of former Conservative Party President, John Ken Lukyamuzi, and had brought a mattress, indicating readiness to camp at the court. However, members of his entourage were arrested by security operatives and taken to Central Police Stations.
In December 2025, Mabirizi petitioned the Constitutional Court, challenging the country’s current electoral framework. He asked the Court to block next week’s elections until the reforms are made. In 2016, in the Presidential petition filed by Amama Mbabazi against the victory of President Museveni and the Electoral Commission, the Supreme Court ordered the parliament to enact comprehensive legislation regulating electro-technology. However, Mabirizi noted that nearly nine years later, that order has not been implemented.
In the petition, Mabirizi was concerned about the use of biometric voter verification machines, the integrity of the national voter register without a clear legal framework, the continued deployment of the military in the electoral process, and the alleged partisan use of state resources to facilitate the National Resistance Movement candidate, who is also the sitting president.
He also decried intimidation, arrests, loss of lives, and the blocking of presidential candidates from accessing campaign venues, particularly within opposition camps during the now-ending campaigns. He asked the court to halt these elections until the matter is resolved. However, his case is not yet fixed for a hearing.
The Courts are currently on recess, with the majority of the Judicial officers expected to return on January 21st, 2026.
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