The High Court in Kampala has upheld the Electoral Commission’s decision to cancel the parliamentary nomination of Mathias Walukagga, ruling that he lacked the minimum academic qualifications required by law at the time of nomination.
In a judgement delivered on Sunday, Justice Simon Peter Kinobe dismissed Walukagga’s petition and found that his Certificate of Mature Age, issued in June 2023, had expired in June 2025—months before he was nominated to contest for the Busiro East seat on the National Unity Platform ticket.
The court ruled that the Electoral Commission lawfully cancelled the nomination after a complaint was filed by a registered voter, rejecting arguments that the certificate remained valid because Walukagga had used it to enroll for further studies.
Justice Kinobe held that the law limits the validity of a mature age certificate to two years and that a certificate of equivalence issued by the National Council for Higher Education could not substitute an expired qualification.
The judge also affirmed the Commission’s authority to determine the validity of nomination documents and stressed that disputes over academic qualifications must be settled before elections.
The court dismissed the petition without costs. Walukagga may appeal.
The ruling leaves 12 candidates in the Busiro East parliamentary race, including incumbent Medard Lubega Sseggona, who is running as an independent.