BREAKING!! High Court Upholds Nakku Fiona’s Disqualification From The National Female Youth MP Race – Throws Out Case Against NRM And NIRA

The High Court in Kampala has thrown out an application by Fiona Nakku, who was seeking to block her removal as the National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer for the National Female Youth Member of Parliament seat.

In a ruling delivered today, August 23, Justice Collins Acelam of the Civil Division held that Nakku’s request for an interim injunction had already been overtaken by events. This follows a decision by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) to revise her date of birth to December 20, 1994—placing her outside the youth age bracket of 18 to 30 as defined by the National Youth Council Act.

“The status quo sought to be maintained by the applicant has already been altered by the first respondent. Therefore, the situation has already been overtaken by events,” Justice Acelam stated.

Nakku, through her legal team, had petitioned the court to prevent NIRA from amending her biodata and to order the NRM to retain her as its official candidate. She argued that her de-nomination was unjust despite having been duly nominated, and that new nominations would undermine her pending judicial review case.

However, the court found that Nakku had not shown how her removal would cause irreparable harm. “Granting such an order would alter the status quo and render the main applications nugatory as there will be no matter to determine,” Justice Acelam added.

Court’s Detailed Ruling

The judge considered Nakku’s application for an interim mandatory injunction, which sought to compel the NRM (the 2nd respondent) to reinstate her as flag bearer, and to block NIRA (the 1st respondent) from altering her biodata.

In his analysis, Justice Acelam emphasized that while Nakku claimed a legal right worth protecting, the court’s discretion must weigh broader interests. He pointed out that the status quo had already changed once NIRA reverted her date of birth to December 20, 1994—making her ineligible under the law.

“As of the instant application, the situation has already been overtaken by events,” he stated.

The court further dismissed claims of irreparable harm, citing that Nakku failed to prove how fresh nominations would cause damage that judicial review could not resolve. The judge reiterated that the law only permits interim orders in matters of extreme urgency, primarily to prevent real, imminent harm—which, in his view, Nakku failed to demonstrate.

Respondents’ Arguments

NIRA, through its Compliance Manager Bahemijka John Ioa, told the court that Nakku’s effort to change her birth year from 1994 to 1997 was legally flawed. They pointed out that the birth certificate she relied on was issued under a repealed law and therefore void. NIRA also noted that Nakku’s initial registration for a national ID in 2014 listed 1994 as her year of birth, reinforcing the decision to revert the records.

The NRM’s Director of Legal Services, Enoch Barata, stated that the party had acted lawfully following complaints about Nakku’s eligibility. He confirmed that Nakku was given a hearing on August 18, after which she was formally de-nominated based on information from NIRA.

Barata added that granting the application would undermine the party’s internal democratic process and that Nakku had no probable case likely to succeed at trial.

Final Decision

After weighing all submissions and affidavits, the judge ruled:
“In light of the above findings, the applicant has not satisfied the grounds for the grant of the orders sought. This application is accordingly dismissed with no orders as to costs.”

Nakku’s main judicial review and temporary injunction cases remain pending.