Fresh legal trouble is brewing for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni after National Peasants Party (NPP) presidential candidate Robert Kasibante petitioned the Supreme Court, challenging the outcome of Uganda’s 2026 presidential election. Kasibante petitioned the High Court, accusing the Electoral Commission (EC) of presiding over what he describes as a sham election riddled with illegalities, intimidation, […]
Fresh legal trouble is brewing for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni after National Peasants Party (NPP) presidential candidate Robert Kasibante petitioned the Supreme Court, challenging the outcome of Uganda’s 2026 presidential election.
Kasibante petitioned the High Court, accusing the Electoral Commission (EC) of presiding over what he describes as a sham election riddled with illegalities, intimidation, and gross violations of the law.
Kasibante came in the sixth place with 33,440 votes (0.5%). Despite his low ranking, Kasibante insists the entire electoral process was deeply flawed and did not reflect the will of the people.
In the petition, Kasibante has sued President Museveni, the Electoral Commission, and the Attorney General, accusing them of orchestrating and presiding over an election that was “neither free nor fair”.
“The election was characterised by massive non-compliance with electoral laws,” Kasibante contends.
He argues that the EC grossly failed in its constitutional duty to organise, conduct, and supervise a free and fair election, and that the irregularities substantially affected the final results.
Among the key grounds of the petition is the disenfranchisement of voters, with Kasibante claiming that many Ugandans were unlawfully removed from the voters’ register and denied their right to vote.
He also accuses the EC of unlawfully ordering voters to leave polling stations immediately after voting or face arrest in violation of the Presidential Elections Act, which allows voters who have cast their ballots to remain at polling stations at least 20 metres away from polling booth.
He claims that the forced evacuation of voters opened the door to vote rigging, intimidation, and manipulation.
The petitioner further accuses security agencies of harassing, intimidating, and brutalising opposition candidates and supporters, often in full view of EC officials who allegedly failed to intervene.
Kasibante also faults the EC over the use and misuse of biometric voter verification machines. He alleges that the EC relied on defective or manipulated biometric machines, compromising the credibility of voter verification, vote counting, and result transmission.
Kasibante further alleges that Museveni and his agents committed several electoral offences .
According to the petition, the EC also failed to gazette and publish a complete list of polling stations at least 60 days before polling day, as required by law.
Kasibante is now asking the Supreme Court to:
Declare that Museveni was not duly elected President of Uganda
Nullify the 2026 presidential election
Order fresh elections to be organised by the EC in compliance with the law
Invalidate results from ungazetted polling stations
Direct a full audit of biometric machines, scanners, servers, and election records
He also wants the court to declare that the counting, tallying, transmission, and declaration of results lacked transparency and integrity.
The Supreme Court Registrar, Thadius Ayebare Tumwebaze, has directed the respondents to file their replies within 10 days, warning that failure to do so will result in the petition being heard and determined in their absence.
