Wakilii

Isabirye Iddi v Salleh Mpaata and Another (Miscellaneous Cause 214 of 2025)

High Court · [2025] UGHCCD 231 · 2025 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review of a political party tribunal decision
Decision
Application for judicial review dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed an application for judicial review of a National Resistance Movement Election Disputes Tribunal decision that set aside the applicant's declaration as party flag bearer following a re-tally. The court held that the tribunal acted within its powers under the NRM Election Regulations 2025 to order a re-tally, that the applicant was accorded a fair hearing and participated in the process through his representatives, and that the decision was not tainted with illegality, irrationality, or procedural impropriety. The court emphasised that judicial review concerns the decision-making process, not the merits of the decision itself.

Outcome

Application for judicial review dismissed

Facts

Hon. Isabirye Iddi was declared winner of the NRM primary elections for Bunya County South Constituency on 18 July 2025 with 17,457 votes. Two losing candidates, Salleh Mpaata (6,824 votes) and Frank Tibagendeka (7,498 votes), filed separate petitions with the NRM Election Disputes Tribunal challenging the declaration. The Tribunal consolidated the petitions and conducted a re-tally of the Declaration of Results forms from all 169 polling stations. On 13 August 2025, the Tribunal dismissed Tibagendeka's petition but set aside Isabirye's election, finding after re-tally that Mpaata had garnered 16,115 votes, Isabirye 10,959 votes, and Tibagendeka 8,165 votes. Mpaata was declared the flag bearer. Isabirye applied for judicial review, alleging he was not given notice of the re-tally, was not afforded an opportunity to participate, and that the process violated natural justice.

Issues

  1. Whether the application is amenable to judicial review.
  2. Whether the applicant raises any grounds for judicial review.
  3. What are the remedies available.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Each party to bear its own costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Amenability — Political Party Tribunals
A political party is a public body within the meaning of the Judicature (Judicial Review) (Amendment) Rules 2019, and decisions of a political party's election disputes tribunal are amenable to judicial review.
Administrative Law — Exhaustion of Remedies — Finality Clauses
Where party regulations provide that a tribunal's decision is final and binding and no further internal remedy is available, an aggrieved party cannot be penalised for failing to exhaust non-existent remedies before seeking judicial review.
Judicial Review — Scope — Process Not Merits
Judicial review is concerned with the decision-making process, not the merits of the decision. It is exercised in a supervisory manner to ensure public powers are exercised in accordance with legality, fairness, and rationality, and does not determine rights inter partes.
Administrative Law — Natural Justice — Fair Hearing
A public body satisfies the requirements of natural justice where parties are given notice of the hearing, are accorded an opportunity to present their cases, and the decision-maker considers the records and submissions made by the parties during the hearing.
Electoral Law — Party Primaries — Powers of Election Tribunals
An election disputes tribunal constituted under party regulations has the power to order a re-tally of votes cast where a vote has been conducted by ballot, and may rely on original declaration of results forms submitted to the electoral commission in conducting such re-tally.

Legislation cited (18)

Cases cited (2)

  • Chief Constable of North Wales Police v Evans [1983] ALL ER 143
  • Ignatius Loyola Malungu v IGG (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 59 of 2016)

Full judgment

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

Isabirye Iddi v Salleh Mpaata and Another (Miscellaneous Cause 214 of 2025) [2025] UGHCCD 231 (29 August 2025)
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.