Kampala-The Supreme Court has granted leave to former presidential candidate Robert Kasibante of the National Peasants Party (NPP) to withdraw his presidential election petition challenging the victory of Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in the 2026 General Elections.
In a unanimous decision delivered by eight justices, led by Chief Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija, the court dismissed Presidential Election Petition No. 1 of 2026 on account of withdrawal and confirmed Museveni as the duly elected President of Uganda, as declared by the Electoral Commission.
Related posts
“Presidential Election Petition No. 1 of 2026 is dismissed on account of withdrawal. We, by unanimous decision of the Court, declare and confirm that Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, being the candidate declared by the Electoral Commission as elected President of Uganda, remains validly elected,” Chief Justice Zeija ruled on behalf of the panel.
Other justices on the panel included Christopher Madrama Izama, Mike Chibita, Elizabeth Musoke, Steven Musota, Catherine Bamugemereire, Mutangula Kibeedi and Percy Tuhaise.
In allowing the withdrawal, the court noted that Kasibante complied with the legal requirements governing the withdrawal of a presidential election petition. The justices emphasized that under Rule 20 of the Presidential Election Petition Rules, a petition can only be withdrawn with leave of court and is not automatically granted upon request. A petitioner must provide sufficient reasons to justify the withdrawal.
The court also observed that none of the respondents objected to the application for withdrawal.
On the issue of costs, eight of the justices declined to order Kasibante to pay legal costs, despite earlier requests by the respondents. However, Justice Christopher Madrama Izama dissented on this point, arguing that the petitioner should have been condemned to costs.
He noted that Parliament included provisions on costs to deter speculative petitions and “fishing expeditions,” adding that failure to award costs could undermine that intention.
In his application, Kasibante informed the court that he lacked adequate resources to gather the necessary evidence to sustain the petition, arguing that proceeding with the case would lead to unnecessary expenditure of time and resources.
Justice Mutangula Kibeedi, speaking on behalf of the nine-member bench, further advised that future presidential candidates intending to challenge election results should carefully study previous Supreme Court decisions to understand the legal thresholds required for a successful petition. He noted that this was only the fifth presidential election petition filed since the promulgation of the 1995 Constitution.
Speaking shortly after the ruling, Kasibante welcomed the court’s decision, saying it would have been unfair for “a peasant like me” to be burdened with heavy legal costs.
