By Leonard Kamugisha Akida
KAMPALA
Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) president Jimmy James Akena has warned outsiders against interfering in the party’s internal affairs as it prepares for its Delegates Conference, where new leaders will be elected.
Addressing journalists at Uganda House in Kampala on Wednesday, Akena said the party’s supreme decision-making organ will convene in about two months, although he did not disclose the exact dates.
He urged party members interested in leadership positions to begin mobilising support from delegates instead of engaging in public rhetoric.
“Those who want to be president of UPC, get yourself ready. Don’t just be making noise there. Get yourself ready and speak to the UPC members,” Akena said.
He stressed that the party’s delegates, and not external actors, would determine the next leadership.
“It is not Jimmy Akena, it is not the media, and it is not these other people who think they can interfere in other political parties. They should keep away. Let UPC organise its house,” he said.
“Get yourself ready, speak to the members and we meet in the playing field. If they think you are the best, we will see.”
The Delegates Conference is UPC’s supreme organ mandated to deliberate on key policy matters and elect the party’s leadership. Its convening follows a resolution passed during a hybrid extraordinary meeting of the UPC National Council held on June 13 at Uganda House.
The National Council also reiterated that anyone purporting to act as a party leader outside the constitutional framework would bear personal responsibility for such actions, signalling the party’s intention to enforce internal discipline ahead of the conference.
The council further resolved to open a 14-day window for delegates to submit written or video recommendations to the Secretary General’s office. The submissions will be consolidated and presented during the Delegates Conference.
UPC has, over the years, been plagued by internal leadership disputes that have weakened the party and attracted court battles. The most notable succession wrangles pitted the late former president Milton Obote’s widow, Miria Obote, against former party president Olara Otunnu, and later Otunnu against Akena, the son of Obote, who emerged victorious in the 2015 leadership contest.
The party also faced fresh controversy last year when the Electoral Commission declined to nominate Akena as the party’s presidential flag bearer following a petition by a rival faction led by Dennis Enap Adim, which challenged Akena’s legitimacy as the substantive UPC president.
Against that backdrop, the National Council resolved to forward Akena’s report on the state of the party to the upcoming Delegates Conference for discussion as members seek to chart the party’s future and address longstanding internal divisions.
