Amelia Kyambadde grilled over resignation as former candidate skips poll appeal

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Mawokota County North Member of Parliament Ms Amelia Anne Kyambadde was on Wednesday pressed by lawyers representing petitioner Mr Hillary Innocent Kiyaga over her continued status as Senior Presidential Advisor on Industry, and whether she had effectively relinquished the public office before her election.

Appearing before presiding High Court Judge Jamson Karemani Karemera during the second day of witness cross-examination, Ms Kyambadde was questioned by the petitioner’s counsel, Mr Francis Ssebbowa, regarding the procedural validity of her resignation.Counsel Ssebbowa challenged why Ms Kyambadde had addressed her resignation letter to the Secretary in the Office of the President, Hajji Yunus Kakande, rather than to the President, who court heard was her appointing authority. Mr Ssebbowa noted that no document or statement on the court record indicated that the President had formally accepted the resignation.

Under further questioning, Ms Kyambadde acknowledged that no handover report was made following her purported resignation, and conceded that the resignation documents presented before court bore no receiving stamp from the Electoral Commission (EC).The court also heard that agents representing Mr Kiyaga—popularly known as Dr Hilderman—were issued Declaration of Results (DR) forms on polling day. Ms Kyambadde agreed that the petitioner’s agents received the documents, a point Mr Kiyaga’s legal team argued supports their assertion that the DR forms tendered in court had been altered after the election.

Meanwhile, the final witness for the petitioner, Mr Sam Akol—a former parliamentary candidate for Mawokota County North—told court that although he discovered alleged alterations and falsifications on DR forms following the polls, he failed to lodge a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission.Cross-examined by Electoral Commission lawyer Mr Samuel Sserwanga, Mr Akol explained that he did not raise the matter with the district returning officer, Mr Evarist Twinomujuni, due to emotional distress after losing the race.“I was stressed after losing the election, that’s why I never bothered to lodge any complaint to the Electoral Commission’s Returning Officer,” Mr Akol testified.

Mr Akol added that he later observed entries crossed out and errors recorded on several DR forms. He was the third witness produced by Mr Kiyaga to face cross-examination, following testimony by Mr Peter Kafuuma, 34, of Bulerejje village, and Mr Noordeen Mutyaba, 64, of Malube-Nalubugo village in Muduuma Sub-county.Wednesday’s court session followed intense proceedings on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, when Mr Kiyaga took the stand. Contesting under the National Unity Platform (NUP) banner, Mr Kiyaga is seeking to overturn the election of Ms Kyambadde, candidate for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM). Ms Kyambadde and the Electoral Commission are listed as first and second respondents, respectively. Official EC figures show Ms Kyambadde won the seat with 27,075 votes against Mr Kiyaga’s 24,801.

Mr. Samuel Akol, a former 2026 general election candidate for Mawokota County North, takes the witness box today to testify on behalf of the petitioner, Mr. Kiyaga Hillary Innocent.

During Tuesday’s session, lead counsel for Ms Kyambadde, Mr Anthony Bazira, interrogated Mr Kiyaga on how he concluded that Ms Kyambadde had failed to resign prior to nomination. Counsel Bazira also rejected claims that the EC unlawfully altered DR forms (Annexures B1 to B50), arguing that any notations were made by individual presiding officers at polling stations rather than the returning officer. Mr Bazira noted that neither the petition nor its supporting affidavits specified the exact polling stations where the returning officer allegedly altered results, and questioned why Mr Kiyaga did not lodge a formal complaint at the time.

In response, Mr Kiyaga testified that while certified copies of DR forms issued to him by the EC reflected figures that differed significantly from those gathered by his agents, several other documents he requested from the EC were never provided. He also pointed to administrative irregularities in Mpigi District, noting that presiding officer Nalubega Sharifah was listed for two separate centers—Buyala Church of Uganda Primary School and Bujuuko polling stations. However, when asked if the signatures on those records matched, Mr Kiyaga admitted he lacked the technical expertise to verify them. “I am not an expert in recognizing the presiding officer’s signatures. I don’t know these people, but I know it was the returning officer’s responsibility to monitor all his people and their activities,” Mr Kiyaga testified.

While Mr Kiyaga maintained that Ms Kyambadde, the Electoral Commission, the returning officer, and select polling agents colluded to manipulate the outcome, Counsel Bazira dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated. Under further cross-examination by EC lawyer Mr Samuel Sserwanga, Mr Kiyaga acknowledged that his agents successfully collected approximately 95 percent of signed DR forms on polling day, though he expressed concern that the certified copies later provided by the EC lacked his agents’ signatures. The petitioner is represented in the proceedings by lead lawyer Mr Medard Lubega Ssegona. Hearing of the petition continues.

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