Defective ballot boxes stall Justin Namere's recount in Masaka

The recount spiraled into a mess where sketchy ballot boxes got sidelined, and the whole Masaka race slid deeper into legal quicksand.

Recount drama at the Masaka City race

• Justin Namere pushed for a court-backed recount after losing the seat.
• Ballots from Kimwanyi P7 got tossed after a one-name-only box surfaced.
• Another station vanished from the count due to a missing seal.
• Counting dragged on long enough to force team splitting.

Court supervision and counting grind

• Chief Magistrate Albert Asiimwe ran the process from Kizungu offices.
• Oversaw vote sorting after problems popped up mid-recount.
• Ordered faster counting by dividing work across city divisions.
• Allowed recounts except where defects wrecked ballot trust.

Challenge to Rose Nalubowa's victory

• Rose Nalubowa originally walked away, declared the winner.
• Faced a court fight questioning the results across multiple stations.
• Refused to join the recount, calling it legally flawed.
• Claimed defective ballots broke election law basics.

Claims of election irregularities

• Justin Namere flagged problems at several polling locations.
• Alleged vote handling failed basic safeguards.
• Sought court review rather than fresh voting.
• Focus stayed on ballot integrity, not margins.

Other candidates in the race

• Juliet Kakande ran under the Democratic Party banner.
• Sawuya Nanyonga entered as an independent contender.
• Neither drove the recount fight.
• Both remained sidelined during the court action.

Legal precedent hanging over recount

• Justice V. F. Musoke-Kibuuka previously shut down unsafe recounts.
• Ruled unsealed boxes poison verification outright.
• Warned courts against pretending broken ballots still work.
• Past cases backed tossing results once seals fail.