The Chief Magistrate’s Court at Nakawa has suspended the implementation of its earlier ruling that nullified the election of National Unity Platform (NUP) councillor Godfrey Luyombya and declared his rival, Emmanuel Kitosi of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), the rightful winner.
In an interim order issued on November 3, 2026, Chief Magistrate Adoko Joe Fay granted Luyombya a stay of execution of the orders arising from Electoral Petition No. 2 of 2026, pending the determination of his substantive application for a stay of execution or further orders of the court.
The interim order temporarily halts the enforcement of the earlier judgment, which had directed Luyombya to vacate his position as Nakawa Division II councillor and the Electoral Commission to gazette Kitosi as the duly elected councillor.
In the order, Adoko stated: “An interim order staying the execution of the orders of the Election Petition No. 2/2026 pending determination of the substantive application for stay of execution in MA No. 0590/2026 or until further orders of this Court.”
The Chief Magistrate further directed that the costs of the application would abide by the outcome of the substantive application.
The development follows the court’s October 29, 2026 judgment, in which Adoko nullified Luyombya’s election after finding that Kitosi had presented sufficient evidence of electoral irregularities that substantially affected the outcome of the January 22, 2026 polls.
The court found that Kitosi had demonstrated non-compliance with electoral requirements and presented numerical evidence indicating that he ought to have been declared the winner.
Consequently, the magistrate nullified the Electoral Commission’s declaration of Luyombya as the winner, ordered him to vacate office and directed the commission to gazette Kitosi as the duly elected councillor with immediate effect.
The court also awarded Kitosi costs of the petition against the respondents, including Luyombya and the Electoral Commission.
The latest interim order means that the earlier directives cannot be enforced for the time being as the court awaits determination of Luyombya’s substantive application for a stay of execution.
The interim order does not overturn the October 29 judgment but temporarily suspends its implementation pending the court’s decision on the substantive application or further orders.
