The High Court in Mbarara has upheld the election of Christopher Bakashaba as Member of Parliament for Mbarara City North, dismissing a petition filed by his political rival, Robert Mwesigwa Rukaari, challenging his academic qualifications.
In a judgment delivered on November 10, 2026, Justice Tom Chemutai dismissed the petition with costs, ruling that Bakashaba was duly qualified to contest and was validly elected in the January 15, 2026 parliamentary elections.
Rukaari, who came second with 4,802 votes against Bakashaba’s 5,478, had asked the court to nullify the election, alleging that the winner had fraudulently obtained academic qualifications by impersonating another person who sat for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2011.
The petitioner claimed that Bakashaba had used the academic identity and examination results of another man bearing the same names to register for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), arguing that all his subsequent academic qualifications were consequently invalid.
However, Justice Chemutai ruled that the petitioner should have first lodged a complaint with the Electoral Commission during the nomination period and, if dissatisfied with its decision, appealed to the High Court.
The judge observed that the Electoral Commission has the constitutional and statutory mandate to handle complaints arising before and during elections, including disputes concerning candidates’ academic qualifications.
“The High Court sits as an Appellate Court after the Electoral Commission has determined the matter and the losing party is not satisfied with that decision,” Justice Chemutai ruled.
He added that the court could not sit as a court of first instance to determine pre-election complaints that should have been handled by the Electoral Commission.
On the allegations of academic fraud, the judge found that the evidence presented did not establish that Bakashaba’s academic documents were forged or had been invalidated by the institutions that issued them.
Court heard that Bakashaba enrolled at Valley View High School in Kawempe, Kampala, as an adult private candidate and obtained his UCE certificate before proceeding to attain the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) and a Diploma in Law from the Law Development Centre.
The court relied on examination guidelines issued by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), which allow Ugandans aged 20 years and above who did not sit PLE to register for UCE as adult private candidates, subject to special permission from the UNEB executive director.
Justice Chemutai noted that UNEB had not recalled or declared Bakashaba’s academic documents forgeries, adding that the evidence showed he had obtained qualifications above the minimum A-Level standard required for election to Parliament.
The judge further observed that allegations of forgery were still under police investigation and that the court could not pronounce itself on an investigation that had not been concluded.
He explained that proving forgery required a higher standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt, which is applicable in criminal proceedings, and that an election petition was not the appropriate avenue for pursuing criminal sanctions.
“The academic documents presented by the first respondent for nomination have not been recalled or declared forgeries by any of the issuing institutions,” Justice Chemutai ruled.
The judge also found that Bakashaba had been effectively served with the petition, dismissing the objection raised by his lawyers over the mode of service.
The petition had attracted attention after Rukaari presented UNEB verification documents, a photograph album of the 2011 PLE candidates at Mushasha Primary School in Buhweju District and a national identity card belonging to the man he alleged had been impersonated.
However, the court concluded that the evidence did not establish that Bakashaba was unqualified to contest for the parliamentary seat.
Justice Chemutai consequently dismissed the petition with costs and upheld Bakashaba’s election as the MP for Mbarara City North.
