By Aaron Okotel
MBALE CITY
The High Court in Mbale has adjourned the hearing of the Mbale city Mayoral electoral petition to Wednesday October 21, after a lengthy two-day cross-examination of the witnesses.
The case is an Election Petition No. 06 of 2026, where Vincent Magombe is challenging the victory of Kidulu Joyce Matuka as the duly elected Mayor of Mbale City alleging irregularities in results from five polling stations in Mbale City’s Industrial Division.
The hearing, saw the petitioner Vincent Magombe cross-examined on Thursday 15th before the court turned to Kidulu Joyce, the first respondent, on Friday.
During the proceedings, the court examined discrepancies in declaration of results (DR) forms, questions about polling agents’ records and differences between figures presented in court and those contained in Electoral Commission documents.
Magombe, represented by lawyer Ambrose Tebyasa of Tebyasa and Company Advocates, maintains that the disputed results affected the outcome of the mayoral election. Kaducu Kidulu is represented by Eddy Nangulu of Nangulu and Company Advocates.
During cross-examination on Friday, Counsel Ambrose Tebyasa put the respondent, Mayor Mary Goretti Kaducu Kidulu, on the spot over discrepancies in Declaration of Results (DR) forms and conflicting tally figures.
A major point of contention during the eight-hour cross-examination of Mayor Kaducu was the discrepancy surrounding her declaration dates and total vote counts across 376 polling stations.
While Kaducu claimed she was declared winner on January 23, 2026, with 10,920 votes against Magombe’s 10,682 votes, court records and official documentation revealed conflicting details.
An official tally sheet dated February 26, 2026, placed Magombe in the lead with 10,587 votes against Kaducu’s 10,378 votes.
Under rigorous cross-examination, Counsel Tebyasa raised questions about key polling stations where the respondent could not produce verified DR forms or present consistent records:
These are Doko A, K, J Fountain Public Primary School, Wanagoli Church Polling Station, Nankobe TC Mosque, Magezi Hotel A&M Polling Station all in Industrial Division.
The court has adjourned proceedings to Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 9:00 AM.
When the hearing resumes, the court is expected to receive testimony from witnesses for the second respondent, as well as the Electoral Commission’s Mbale City Returning Officer, Michael Arinaitwe.
In the January 2026 elections official results, Kidulu, an independent candidate, polled 10,920 votes, edging out the incumbent mayor, Cassim Namugali Wamatabu of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), who secured 10,251 votes. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, Vincent Magombe, finished third with 10,682 votes.
Other contenders in the race included Zandya Mutwalib, an independent candidate who garnered 8,030 votes; Mansa Musa of the National Unity Platform (NUP) with 6,576 votes; Mugoya Siraji, who polled 4,746 votes; Masuba Safi with 1,223 votes; Rogers Kimaswa with 880 votes; and Yahaya Mwanje, who received 284 votes.
