The legal challenge to the outcome of the 2026 Mukono District LC5 chairperson election has taken a significant step forward after petitioner Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga successfully traced and served election petition documents on his rival, Francis Lukooya Mukoome.
The petition, lodged before the High Court in Mukono under the Local Government Act and the Electoral Commission Act, contests the declaration of Lukooya as the winner of the district chairperson election.
Court records indicate that Muyanja alleges serious irregularities in the declaration of results and accuses both Lukooya and the Electoral Commission of involvement in the disputed process.
Following service of the petition, the respondents have been directed to file their responses within 10 days. Failure to do so could result in the court proceeding with the matter in their absence.
The development marks a critical stage in a dispute that has attracted national attention since the dramatic events that unfolded at the Mukono District tally centre on January 22, 2026.
At the centre of the controversy is the conduct of Emily Amongin, the district returning officer. According to the petition, Amongin initially announced Muyanja as the winner after he secured 51,686 votes against Lukooya’s 50,254 votes.
However, tensions reportedly escalated shortly after the announcement, with supporters of the ruling National Resistance Movement disputing the results and insisting that their candidate, Lukooya, had won the election.
Documents filed before the court claim that Muyanja was prevented by armed security personnel from accessing the returning officer’s desk to obtain his official Declaration of Results form.
The petition further alleges that Haruna Ssemakula was allowed access to the returning officer’s office, where he reportedly held a private meeting with electoral officials for nearly two hours.
According to the court filings, Amongin subsequently left the tally centre for approximately one hour. Upon returning, she allegedly reversed the earlier declaration and announced Lukooya as the duly elected district chairperson without providing a detailed explanation to candidates and their agents.
The final results later released by the Electoral Commission indicated that Lukooya had obtained 52,523 votes, while Muyanja’s tally was revised to 52,105 votes.
Independent candidate Lauben Ssenyonjo finished third with 3,095 votes.
The election dispute has renewed debate about transparency and accountability in the tallying process, particularly following reports of heightened security deployment at the tally centre and concerns raised by election observers regarding the handling of results.
Mukono District has historically experienced intense political competition, often involving rival factions within the NRM as well as opposition-aligned candidates.
With the petition now formally served, attention turns to the High Court in Mukono, where the case is expected to focus on the authenticity of the original Declaration of Results forms and the circumstances surrounding the interruption and subsequent alteration of the announced results.
The Electoral Commission and Lukooya are expected to file their responses before the court schedules the hearing.
