Wakilii

Electoral Commission v Kamba Michael Bhamusangala [2026] UGHCCD 226

High Court · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for stay of execution of orders made in Miscellaneous Application No. 881 of 2025 pending appeal
Decision
Stay of execution granted pending determination of the appeal

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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.

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 High Court granted the Electoral Commission a stay of execution of orders made in Miscellaneous Application No. 881 of 2025. The respondent had been served through WhatsApp by the process server but neither filed an affidavit in reply nor attended court, which the court treated as indicating loss of interest. The court accepted the applicant's unopposed grounds: a notice of appeal had been filed on 4 December 2025; the appeal had a high likelihood of success because the matter ought to have come to the High Court by way of appeal under section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act rather than at first instance; there was no unreasonable delay; and substantial loss of public funds (UGX 50 million) was likely. Costs were ordered to be in the cause.

Outcome

Stay of execution granted pending determination of the appeal

Facts

The Electoral Commission applied for a stay of execution of orders issued by the High Court in Miscellaneous Application No. 881 of 2025. It had filed a notice of appeal on 4 December 2025. The Commission contended that the appeal had a high likelihood of success because the underlying matter should have been brought before the High Court by way of appeal under section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act rather than as a court of first instance, that there had been no unreasonable delay in lodging the appeal, and that substantial loss would result if the stay were refused, with UGX 50 million of taxpayers' money at risk. There was evidence on record that the respondent had been served through WhatsApp by a process server, Kalongo Patrick, on 17 March 2026. The respondent filed no affidavit in reply and neither he nor his counsel appeared on the appointed hearing date. The application therefore proceeded unopposed.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant established grounds for a stay of execution of the orders made in Miscellaneous Application No. 881 of 2025 pending appeal.
  2. Whether the application could be determined in the absence of the respondent who had been served but filed no affidavit in reply.

Orders

  • A stay of execution of the orders in Miscellaneous Application No. 881 of 2025 is granted.
  • The costs shall be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Stay of Execution Pending Appeal — Unopposed Application
Where an application for stay of execution is unopposed and the applicant demonstrates a pending notice of appeal filed without unreasonable delay, a likelihood of success on appeal and the likelihood of substantial loss, the court may grant the stay as prayed.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Service by WhatsApp and Effect of Non-Appearance
Where there is evidence on record that a respondent was served through WhatsApp by a process server and thereafter files no affidavit in reply and does not attend court on the appointed day, the court may treat this as indicating loss of interest and proceed to determine the application unopposed.
Electoral Law — Jurisdiction of the High Court — Electoral Commission Act s.15 Appellate Jurisdiction
A complaint arising under section 15 of the Electoral Commission Act comes before the High Court by way of appeal, and an arguable contention that the matter was wrongly commenced in the High Court at first instance may support a finding of likelihood of success on appeal.

Legislation cited (3)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Electoral Commission v Kamba Michael Bhamusangala [2026] UGHCCD 226 (17 June 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.