The Supreme Court in Kampala has confirmed Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as Uganda’s duly elected president after a challenger withdrew his petition contesting the January poll.
In a unanimous decision on Thursday, the nine-member panel led by Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija allowed former presidential candidate Robert Kasibante to withdraw his case, formally known as Presidential Election Petition No. 01 of 2026.
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Reading the lead judgment, Justice Muzamir Mutangula Kibeedi said the court had agreed to permit the withdrawal of the petition. However, one justice, Christopher Izama Madrama, dissented on the question of legal costs.
The court emphasised that a presidential election petition is not an ordinary civil matter but one of significant constitutional importance. The judges said that by filing such a case, a petitioner invokes the court’s highest jurisdiction and must be aware of the serious legal and financial consequences involved.
Mr Kasibante had applied on 5 February to withdraw both his main petition and a related application seeking access to backend electoral data held by the Electoral Commission.
He told the court he lacked the financial resources to conduct a nationwide forensic audit of election materials, including biometric voter verification systems and servers. Without access to that evidence, he said, the petition could not meet the required standard of proof.
The respondents — President Museveni, the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General — did not oppose the withdrawal but asked the court to dismiss the petition with costs, arguing that substantial resources had been spent defending what they described as an unmeritorious case.
In its ruling, the majority held that the evidence on record was insufficient to sustain the petition and that preventing its withdrawal would serve no useful purpose.
“As such, Presidential Election Petition No. 01 of 2026 is hereby withdrawn,” the court ruled.
The judges noted that once a presidential election petition is withdrawn, established precedent dictates that the candidate declared winner by the Electoral Commission is conclusively deemed to have been duly elected. The court cited its earlier ruling in the 2021 petition filed by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu in support of that position.
On the issue of costs, the law states that a petitioner who withdraws a case “shall be liable” to pay costs. However, the majority held that the court retains discretion in deciding whether to award them. It concluded that ordering Mr Kasibante to pay would not serve the public interest and directed that each party bear its own costs.
Justice Izama Madrama disagreed on that point, arguing that failing to award costs would undermine statutory provisions enacted by parliament. He nonetheless agreed with the decision to allow the withdrawal.
The ruling brings to an end legal proceedings arising from the 15 January 2026 presidential election. The Electoral Commission declared Mr Museveni the winner with 7,946,772 votes, ahead of Mr Kyagulanyi, who received 2,741,238.
Mr Kasibante, who polled 33,440 votes, had alleged widespread irregularities, including violence, voter bribery and misuse of state resources, and had asked the court to annul the results and order a fresh election.
Following the judgment, a senior legal official from the ruling National Resistance Movement welcomed the decision, saying the president is now awaiting his swearing-in for the 2026–2031 term.
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