Nameere served election petition through newspapers after refusing court notice

Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament Justine Nameere (Nameere Justine) is facing a court challenge after her rival Rose Nalubowa (Nalubowa Rose) filed an election petition in the High Court in Masaka.

Nalubowa said through her lawyers that the petition was filed on March 6, 2026. She accused Nameere of refusing to receive the notice of the petition.

“Through my Lawyers, we filed a petition against Ms. Nameere on 6th March but she refused to receive Notice of petition. As required by Law, we noticed her through public Newspapers,” Nalubowa wrote in a public notice posted on X.

She said the notice was published in the Weekend Vision of March 14–15, 2026 on page 47 and the Daily Monitor on page 33.

The newspaper notice shows the petition was filed under the Parliamentary Elections Act, 2005 (as amended) at the High Court of Uganda in Masaka. The respondents in the case include Nameere, the Returning Officer for Masaka City, and the Electoral Commission.

The notice requires the respondents to file their response within ten days after service of the petition. It warns that the court may proceed with the case in their absence if they fail to respond.

The petition follows a heated contest for the Masaka City Woman MP seat in the January 15, 2026 parliamentary election.

On February 1, 2026, Masaka Chief Magistrate Abert Asiimwe ordered and supervised a three-day recount of votes involving four candidates. The recount declared Nameere the winner with 25,502 votes, ahead of Nalubowa, who received 23,176 votes.

The recount overturned an earlier declaration that had favoured the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Nalubowa.

During the exercise, the court noted that more than five ballot boxes appeared to have been tampered with, raising objections from some opposition candidates.

Speaking shortly after the recount, Nameere defended the outcome and insisted the process confirmed her victory.

“My case sets a new precedent in line with modern politics,” Nameere said as she maintained that the recount reaffirmed her mandate to serve Masaka City.

Nalubowa’s petition now shifts the dispute to the High Court in Masaka, which will determine whether the election result stands.