Uganda’s High Court in Kampala has thrown out a new attempt to force the Electoral Commission to allow prisoners to vote in the upcoming 2026 elections.
The case, filed by activist Aloyo Nyeko Omega, argued that the commission’s failure to organize inmate voting was unconstitutional and violated a previous court ruling recognizing prisoners’ voting rights. Omega sought orders to halt the elections until voting arrangements for prisoners were in place.
But Justice Bernard Namanya ruled on January 4 that the matter had already been settled. Citing the principle of res judicata which bars re-litigating issues already decidedhe said the court could not reconsider the same question.
“The law does not allow this court to consider the same issue again,” Namanya noted, referring to the 2020 case of Kalali Steven v Attorney General & Electoral Commission, which confirmed that Ugandans aged 18 and above, including those in prison, have the right to vote.
Despite Omega’s claim that the Electoral Commission has yet to implement the previous directives, the application was dismissed without costs.
As Uganda gears up for presidential, parliamentary, and local elections, debates continue over whether and how prisoners will practically exercise their voting rights.
