Patongo High Court, Uganda — Former Aruu County Member of Parliament Samuel Odonga Otto has delivered a defiant message following the hearing of his election petition at the Patongo High Court Circuit, vowing to continue his legal battle against incumbent MP Christopher Komakech despite procedural setbacks.
Speaking to supporters and media after the court session, Dr. Otto argued that the law clearly mandates a vote recount when the margin between candidates falls below 50 votes, and insisted that the returning officer had a legal duty to initiate one without requiring a formal request.
The Legal Battle for Aruu County
Dr. Otto, who contested as an independent candidate, lost the January 2026 parliamentary election by a razor-thin margin of just 26 votes. According to results declared by the Pader District Returning Officer Eric Gimie, Komakech polled 10,455 votes against Otto’s 10,429 .
The narrow margin triggered Section 54 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, which provides for a mandatory vote recount when candidates are separated by fewer than 50 votes . Dr. Otto’s legal team argued that the returning officer was obligated under the law to conduct a recount automatically, without waiting for a formal request from any candidate.
In his post-hearing address, Dr. Otto emphasized this legal point forcefully, stating: “The law does not say someone should request for the mandatory count. The law says mandatory recount.” He pointed to other races in the same election where recounts were conducted, questioning why his contest was treated differently.
The Ballot Box Controversy
The case took a dramatic turn during court proceedings when an inspection of ballot boxes revealed serious integrity concerns. According to court records, several ballot boxes were found with broken seals, loose locks, or were discovered wide open .
Pader Chief Magistrate Martin Kirya had initially ordered a recount scheduled for January 23, but the hearing was delayed after Electoral Commission officials failed to appear on time. When the inspection finally proceeded, multiple ballot boxes—including those from Acholi-Pii, Kilak, Bus Park, and Lwala polling stations—were found compromised .
The respondents’ lawyer, Geoffrey Komakech, argued that once ballot box custody and integrity are compromised, the law does not permit a recount, citing legal precedents requiring election materials to be intact .
The Nabukera Brenda Precedent
In his address, Dr. Otto invoked the landmark Court of Appeal decision in the Nabukera Brenda case, which he argued established that returning officers cannot unilaterally halt a mandatory recount based on their own assessment of ballot box integrity.
In that 2011 Luwero Woman MP election dispute, the returning officer stopped a recount after claiming ballot boxes were tampered with. The Court of Appeal subsequently ruled that the failure to conduct the mandatory recount violated electoral law and vitiated the declared result, ultimately ordering a by-election .
Dr. Otto argued that his case is “similar to the case of Nabukera Brenda” and expressed hope that the courts would apply the same legal principles to his petition.
Court Dismisses Recount Application
Despite Dr. Otto’s arguments, the Pader Chief Magistrate’s Court dismissed the recount application, ruling that the compromised condition of several ballot boxes made a reliable recount impossible .
Magistrate Kirya ruled that “a vote recount is only tenable when the ballot boxes are intact and free from any signs of tampering” .
However, Dr. Otto welcomed this outcome, stating that it allows him to pursue a substantive petition in the High Court once the Electoral Commission gazettes the results. “It’s good that we did not conduct the recount because we do not know who opened the ballot boxes,” he said .
Allegations of Irregularities
The petition was built on multiple grounds, including allegations of ballot stuffing, wrongful invalidation of votes, and irregularities at 12 polling stations. Dr. Otto claimed that at least 175 votes clearly cast in his favour were wrongly invalidated due to failures of Biometric Voter Verification Machines (BVVMs) .
He also questioned a significant discrepancy in invalid votes: 407 parliamentary ballots were invalidated compared to only 46 invalid votes in the Woman MP race conducted under identical conditions .
The Returning Officer, Eric Gimie, admitted to procedural errors and apologised, though he maintained that the final tally was accurate .
A History of Contested Elections
This marks the second consecutive electoral defeat for Dr. Otto at the hands of Komakech, and like the previous contest, it has ended up in court. Following his 2021 loss, Dr. Otto petitioned the High Court seeking to nullify the results, citing alleged voter bribery, intimidation, and claims that Komakech’s father—the late Lt Gen Paul Lokech, former Deputy Inspector General of Police—used his influence to secure his son’s victory .
That petition was also dismissed in Komakech’s favour.
The political rivalry in Aruu County has deep roots. Dr. Otto, a four-time MP and outspoken legislator, has long been a prominent figure in Pader District politics, while Komakech has consolidated his position through his NRM affiliation and government connections .
The Road Ahead
With the recount application dismissed, Dr. Otto’s legal team is preparing to file a substantive election petition in the High Court once the Electoral Commission officially gazettes the results. The Patongo High Court Circuit, which was recently operationalised to serve Pader, Abim, Otuke, Agago, Lamwo, and Karenga districts, will likely hear the case .
In his closing remarks, Dr. Otto struck a tone of spiritual resilience, stating: “The most important judge and the final judge is not human beings. The final judge is the person who created human beings. So we will stand by the truth. We shall stand for the truth.”
As the legal battle moves to the High Court, the people of Aruu County await a resolution that could reshape the political landscape of Pader District and set important precedents for Uganda’s electoral jurisprudence.
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