For many residents of Katabi Town Council in Wakiso District, the recently concluded Local Council One (LC1) elections were expected to strengthen grassroots democracy. Instead, the polls have left behind questions, accusations and growing demands for accountability, with several candidates petitioning the Electoral Commission (EC) over what they describe as widespread electoral irregularities.
The petitioners allege that in several villages and cells across the fast-growing town council, voters who patiently lined up behind their preferred candidates were never counted, security personnel interfered with the electoral process, underage learners participated in the elections and election officials relied on provisional voter slips instead of the physical queues prescribed under the voting guidelines.
Located about 30 kilometres south of Kampala along the Kampala-Entebbe Highway, Katabi Town Council has become one of Wakiso District’s fastest-expanding urban centres. Bordering Entebbe Municipality and Kajjansi Town Council, the area comprises 23 villages and cells and continues to attract new residents because of its proximity to Entebbe International Airport and Lake Victoria. The population growth has made local elections increasingly competitive, raising the stakes for candidates and voters alike.
Among those challenging the conduct of the election is Abby Malik Ssebowa, the incumbent LC1 chairperson for Abayita Ababiri Cell. In a petition addressed to Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama, Ssebowa argues that election officials ignored the requirement to count voters standing behind each candidate.
Instead, he claims, officials counted voter slips that had been issued earlier on polling day.
“This is totally illegal as it contravened Clause 15 of the LC1 election guidelines, which requires the presiding officer to count each voter lining up behind every candidate,” part of the petition states.
The allegation strikes at the heart of Uganda’s LC1 electoral system, where voting is conducted by lining up behind candidates in full view of election officials and residents before the queues are physically counted.
Similar concerns have been raised by John Chrysestom Luboobi, the incumbent chairperson of Nkumba-Bufulu Cell, who alleges that secondary school students were transported to participate in the elections despite being underage.
According to Luboobi, parents were shocked to find their children taking part in the voting process even though they did not possess national identity cards. The petitioners say they have attached names and photographs of the alleged underage participants as part of the evidence submitted to the Electoral Commission.
“The declared candidate had procured underage students and made them line up behind him,” the petition states.
Elsewhere in Kabale A Cell, candidate Stanley Nsubuga says the voting process ended before his supporters were counted.
“The presiding officer left us in the queue and was taken away. The next we heard was that my opponent had been declared the winner,” Nsubuga said. “Up to now, the residents do not know the elected members of our local council.”
Comparable complaints have also emerged from Bulega-Mbiru Cell, where videos and photographs circulating on social media appear to show long queues of residents reportedly waiting behind incumbent candidate Tonny Walugembe. Several residents claim they were never counted, leaving uncertainty over whether the official declaration reflected the people who had lined up to vote.
Godfrey Mugerwa, a candidate from Kitala Cell, has made similar claims, saying his supporters were also left uncounted.
The aggrieved candidates further allege that attempts to lodge complaints with local election officials were unsuccessful. They claim the presiding officer for Katabi Town Council declined to receive their petitions and instead advised them to seek redress through the courts.
“We are directing them to go to court,” said Jessica Nayebare, the presiding officer for Katabi Town Council.
Asked specifically about allegations that voters were not counted in some polling stations, Nayebare said the matter should be handled in court where all the evidence could be presented.
The Electoral Commission, however, maintains that the law provides avenues for addressing electoral grievances.
EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi said any candidate or voter dissatisfied with the conduct of the elections is free to submit a formal written complaint or petition to the commission, accompanied by supporting evidence.
“The commission listens, hears all parties concerned, examines the evidence and the law and takes a decision. There is also the option of petitioning the court,” Mucunguzi said.
As the Electoral Commission awaits formal complaints, the petitions from Katabi underscore the challenges of conducting elections in one of Wakiso’s fastest-growing urban areas, where expanding populations, heightened political competition and disputed voting procedures have combined to cast a shadow over elections meant to reflect the will of the people.t
