Court Ends Two-Year Battle: Ruyonga Remains Hoima West MP
The Court of Appeal has upheld Joseph Ruyonga’s election as the Member of Parliament for Hoima West Constituency, concluding a legal battle that lasted two years. The decision came after the court refused to review its earlier ruling on an election petition filed by Ruyonga’s rival, Ismail Kasule.
A panel of three judges, led by Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, stated that they did not have the jurisdiction to hear an appeal against a decision made by the same court. The other judges on the panel were Catherine Bamugemereire and Monica Mugenyi, who are now serving as Supreme Court judges.
“We find no ground upon which we could lawfully review a decision of this court. Evidently, we have no jurisdiction to purport to sit on appeal in a decision of this court. We therefore dismiss this appeal with no order as to costs,” ruled Deputy Chief Justice Buteera.
In their judgment dated May 29, 2024, the judges explained that it would be unwise to require them to review and alter their judgment, as this would contradict the original intent of the court when the decision was made. They emphasized that the Court of Appeal is the final authority on electoral matters and that its judgment is the end of the litigation process.
While Rule 2(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules allows the court some discretion to revisit its decisions, the judges found that Kasule’s case did not provide valid grounds for a lawful review. According to the judges, Kasule had filed an election petition under the Parliamentary Election Petition Act, which had already been heard and decided.
“The applicant was not deprived of any opportunity to present his submissions. He had ample time to prepare and present his cases and therefore no ground exists upon which we would recall a judgment under Article 28(1) of the Constitution. There is no clear illegality that would render the judgment per incuriam as alleged,” observed Deputy Chief Justice Buteera.
In January 2021, the Electoral Commission declared Ruyonga as the duly and validly elected MP for Hoima West Constituency with 6,369 votes. His rival, Kasule, received 6,212 votes. This court ruling marks the end of the legal dispute over the election results.
Earlier in 2021, the Hoima Chief Magistrates Court had turned down an application for a vote recount in the Hoima West Division constituency. This application was brought forward by Ismail Kasule, who ran on the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) party ticket, opposing Dr. Joseph Ruyonga of the National Resistance Movement (NRM). Ruyonga was declared the winner with 6,396 votes, while Kasule received 6,212 votes.
Other candidates in the race included Ronald Tumusiime, who garnered 5,075 votes, Shem Byakagaba with 1,681 votes, and Geoffrey Beraheru, who finished with 426 votes. Kasule contested the results, claiming that many of his votes were wrongly deemed invalid. He believed that a recount could reveal enough valid votes to change the election outcome. In total, there were 517 invalid votes.
Kasule argued that the Electoral Commission made several errors during the vote counting and declaration process, which resulted in a loss of votes for him and led to Ruyonga’s victory by a margin of 184 votes. He hoped that a recount would clarify the number of valid, invalid, and spoilt votes.
However, Hoima Chief Magistrate George Obong dismissed Kasule’s application, stating that Kasule did not provide sufficient evidence to prove numerical errors. “The applicant specifies errors committed by the respondents without specifically mentioning them. Clearly, this court and any other court cannot be dragged into working on conjecture,” Obong said.
After the ruling, Kasule expressed his dissatisfaction and announced plans to appeal the decision in the High Court the following week, before the Electoral Commission gazettes the elected Members of Parliament.
In contrast, Dr. Ruyonga expressed his satisfaction with the verdict and urged Kasule to accept the defeat, emphasizing that there should ultimately be one winner in the election.
