Wakilii

Aminah Mutesi Nalugoda v Nankwanga Stella Maris and Another (Miscellaneous Application No.1 of 2026)

High Court · [2026] UGHC 213 · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ex-parte application for enlargement of time and substituted service arising from Election Petition No. 2 of 2026
Decision
Substituted service granted by publication and deposit at registry

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 1 time with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The court granted the application for substituted service in an election petition matter. The applicant had filed the application within three days of the petition being endorsed, excluding a public holiday. The court was satisfied that all reasonable efforts had been made to effect personal service on the 1st respondent, who could not be located at her known address or contacted by phone. Substituted service by publication in the New Vision newspaper was ordered.

Outcome

Substituted service granted by publication and deposit at registry

Facts

The applicant filed Election Petition No. 2 of 2026 on 5 March 2026, which was endorsed by the Registrar the same day. The applicant's process server attempted to serve the 1st respondent with the Notice of Presentation of Petition and a copy of the petition. The process server went to the 1st respondent's known physical address in Iganga Municipality and called her known phone number (0703628879), but the 1st respondent could not be physically found or located. Unable to effect personal service, the applicant filed this application for enlargement of time and substituted service on 9 March 2026, three days after the petition was endorsed, excluding 8 March 2026 which was declared a public holiday (Women's Day).

Issues

  1. Whether the application for substituted service was filed within the mandatory three-day period prescribed by Rule 6(4) of the Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules.
  2. Whether the applicant had made all reasonable efforts to effect personal service on the 1st respondent.
  3. Whether substituted service should be granted in the circumstances.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • The applicant shall publish the Notice of Election Petition No. 02 of 2026 in the New Vision newspaper on a working day, 7 days from 17 March 2026.
  • The applicant shall leave the respondent's copy at the High Court registry at Iganga.
  • Costs of this application shall be in the main petition.

Rules and key headnotes

Electoral Law — Election Petitions — Service of Petition — Time Limits for Application for Substituted Service
An application for substituted service in an election petition must be filed immediately after the petitioner fails to effect personal service within three days from the date the court Registrar issued the Notice of the Petition, as required by Rule 6(4) of the Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules SI 141-2.
Electoral Law — Election Petitions — Service of Petition — Anticipatory Applications Not Permitted
An application for substituted service cannot be made at the time of filing the petition in anticipation that it will be impossible to serve the respondent in the usual way. The application can only be brought at the end of three days after attempting personal service.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Substituted Service — Requirements for Grant
A court may order substituted service under Rule 6(5) of the Parliamentary Elections (Interim Provisions) Rules if satisfied that all reasonable efforts have been made to effect personal service on the respondent but without success, including attempts at the respondent's known physical address and contact by telephone.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases citing this judgment (1)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Aminah Mutesi Nalugoda v Nankwanga Stella Maris and Another (Miscellaneous Application No.1 of 2026) [2026] UGHC 213 (17 March 2026)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.