In a staggering move aimed to keep Politician Jimmy Akena in power, he has vowed to take Electoral Commission to court for denying him opportunity to stand for 2026 presidential race.
Akena who is facing internal pressures has also refused to hand over Uganda People’s Congress office despite expiry of his term in office as party president.
The Electoral Commission (EC) ruled out the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) from presenting a presidential candidate in the 2026 elections, citing constitutional violations and binding court orders.
The decisive ruling came after a meeting on Sunday, 21 September, between EC officials and senior UPC figures, among them Jimmy James Michael Akena, Denis Enap Adim, Joseph Pinytek Ochieno, and Peter Walubiri Mukidi. The session, intended to settle which candidate the commission could lawfully recognize, instead laid bare the scale of UPC’s internal divisions.
On Monday, 22 September, EC Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama delivered the commission’s verdict: neither Akena nor Adim qualifies to run as the party’s flag bearer. He advised UPC to honour its own constitution and respect court rulings that had already declared Akena ineligible for re-election.
Akena has led UPC since 2015, had his nomination nullified by court earlier this year after judges ruled that he had already served the maximum two terms allowed under the party’s constitution.
According to reliable sources Jimmy Akenas term expired on 1st August but is playing monkey tricks to remain in office as party president.
The Uganda People’s Congress is a political party in Uganda.UPC was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence alongside UPC member of parliament A.G. Mehta. Obote later served two presidential terms under the party’s banner.