The High Court in Gulu has permitted Tonny Kitara to notify Justice Minister Norbert Mao of an election petition through a newspaper advert, after repeated efforts to reach him directly failed.
Kitara, who lost the Laroo-Pece division race to Mao in January, filed a petition on April 1 challenging the election results. His legal team immediately began trying to deliver the court documents to Mao in person, as required by law.
Lawyer Imran Gitta told court that he tried calling a phone number believed to belong to Mao several times, but received no response. Attempts to reach him via WhatsApp were also unsuccessful, as the number was not registered on the platform.
Gitta then went to Mao’s office at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in Naguru, but found it locked. After these efforts failed, Kitara’s lawyers concluded that Mao could not be reached.
Presiding over the matter, Phillip Odoki noted that while the law requires election petitions to be served personally, alternative methods can be used if the respondent cannot be found within three days.
Kitara’s legal team, now led by Caleb Alaka, argued that they had done everything possible within the required time. They also asked the court to allow more time, citing delays caused by the Easter holidays.
Justice Odoki accepted the explanation, saying courts can extend deadlines where there are valid reasons. He stressed that election cases should be decided based on facts rather than technical delays.
After reviewing the application, the judge ruled in Kitara’s favour.
The court extended the time for filing, allowed the petition to be served through a notice in the Daily Monitor newspaper and on the court notice board, and directed that Mao can collect the full documents from the court registry.
The ruling clears the way for Kitara’s election challenge to proceed despite the initial difficulties in serving the respondent.
