By Henry Okello
TORORO
The Chief Magistrate’s Court in Tororo has dismissed an application by incumbent West Budama County South MP, Dr. Emmanuel Otiam Otala, seeking a vote recount in 8 polling stations in Osia Sub-county.
The ruling, delivered on Thursday afternoon, 29th January, 2026 by Chief Magistrate Irene Nambatya, upheld NRM’s George Oketcho as the duly elected Member of Parliament.
Oketcho was declared winner of the January 15 polls with 12,050 votes against Otala’s 11,428.
Otala had argued that falsification of results, numerical errors, voter intimidation, pre-ticked ballots, ballot stuffing, and inflated voter numbers marred the tallying process. He insisted that a recount would expose discrepancies.
However, the court found his application lacking merit. Otala later clarified that he had sought a recount in only eight polling stations, since two had already been nullified, and protested the ruling as unfair.
He vowed to challenge the outcome in the High Court once Oketcho is gazetted.
Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Oketcho accused Otala of attempting to “rob the will of the people of West Budama County South,” adding that divine intervention had preserved the voters’ choice.
He questioned the competence of Otala’s legal team and promised constituents that he would not disappoint them.
The ruling marks another dramatic twist in Tororo’s political landscape, where several incumbents lost their seats in the 2026 general elections.
