Court Rejects Kananura’s Bid to Amend Petition Challenging George Musisi’s Kira Victory

Justice George Okello ruled that parliamentary election laws do not allow petitions to be amended outside the statutory framework, while the original election challenge remains before court.

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Jamal Junior
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Highlights
  • Court rejected Kananura’s bid to amend his election petition.
  • Kananura was ordered to pay half of Musisi and EC’s costs.
  • The original petition challenging Musisi’s victory remains before court.

The High Court in Wakiso has dismissed an application by NRM’s Daniel Kananura seeking to amend his election petition challenging NUP’s George Musisi as the elected Kira Municipality Member of Parliament.

Justice George Okello ruled on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, that the law governing parliamentary elections does not provide for the amendment of election petitions and that court has no power to extend the statutory period for filing or amending such petitions.

Kananura initially filed his petition on March 31, 2026, before submitting an amended version on April 7. Musisi and the Electoral Commission opposed the amendment, arguing that it was filed outside the statutory period and introduced matters that were not contained in the original petition.

Justice Okello held that ordinary civil procedure rules could not be used to create an amendment procedure that is not provided for under the electoral laws.

“The law remains strict and does not provide for amendment of parliamentary election petition, whether with leave or without leave,” Justice Okello ruled.

George Musisi

The judge also ordered Kananura to pay half of the costs incurred by Musisi and the Electoral Commission in the application.

The ruling, however, does not amount to a judicial determination of the electoral irregularities alleged in Kananura’s challenge. Reports indicate that the substantive election dispute is based on the original petition that was filed within the required period.

Kananura’s challenge followed the January 2026 parliamentary election in which Musisi won the Kira Municipality seat. Allegations raised in the election challenge, including claims of electoral irregularities, have been disputed by the respondents and were not findings made by Justice Okello in Tuesday’s ruling.

The substantive petition therefore remains a separate matter for determination, leaving Musisi with an outstanding legal challenge to his election victory.

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