LIRA
Leaders and supporters of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) in the Lango sub-region have tasked the party president, Hon. Jimmy Akena Obote, to endorse the presidential candidate they should support in the 2026 general elections, following Electoral Commission decision disqualifying him from the 2026 presidential race.
The demand has surfaced alongside severe criticism from senior party members, highlighting deep-seated divisions and a leadership crisis within the historical party.
The pressure was explicitly voiced by Geoffrey Alex Ogwal Adyebo, the UPC Kwania District LC5 Chairperson. He says Akena endorse a single candidate among those already nominated.
“If Akena is not blindfolding the people of Lango and party members, he should prove and provide evidence to them showing that he was ready and well prepared to contest as president,” Ogwal Adyebo said. “But if he fails, he should show people one candidate among the candidates duly nominated to run for president.”
Former Oyam North MP, Chrispus Ayena Odongo launched a scathing attack on the party’s current administration, describing it as dysfunctional.
“UPC party under the leadership of Jimmy Akena has been running administratively like a bicycle without a brake,” Ayena asserted.
He said the party’s soul departed with its founder, noting that the current leadership has no control over the party’s operations.
“UPC died with its founder Milton Obote. After Obote’s death, it was only party symbols and T-shirts left, but not the party functioning,” he added.
Ayena attributes the challenges faced by UPC to a section of party leaders, who he accuse of betraying Akena. He singled out the Secretary General, Fred Ebil who he alleges was aware of term limits in the party constitution, but did nothing to amend them to favour Akena’s continued leadership.
“He failed to show Party President, Jimmy Akena the right ways.”
“The sentiment that the party’s top brass is resistant to counsel,” echoed by Patrick Ogwang Medmac, a former UPC member and current Mayor Aspirant for Lira City East on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket. Ogwang cited internal factions as his reason for departing UPC.
“Top leaders of UPC don’t want people to show them the right direction. They believe that they know everything,” he added, underscoring the perception of an insular leadership.
Last week, the UPC petitioned the High Court challenging the disqualification of their candidate, Jimmy Akena from nomination to run for president in the coming elections. The party legal team led by the Erute South County MP, Jonathan Odur argued that Akena had met all the requirements to contest for the country’s top seat including collecting the required 100 signatures from the two-thirds of the districts (98) that make up Uganda, and wondered how his candidate was blocked.
In a petition, UPC prayed that court issues a temporary injunction directing EC to nominate Akena. The petition was objected by the EC legal head , Eric Sabiiti who said that the matter had been overtaken by events since presidential nominations closed on Wednesday, September 24. According to Sabiiti, UPC failed to comply with its own constitution in time, but said the commission can reopen for nominations based on facts, or evidence.
Parrots Media has learned that the High Court in Kampala on Thursday (September 25) has set October 1, as the date to deliver its ruling on whether the Electoral Commission acted lawfully in disqualifying Akena from the 2026 presidential race or not.
The court ordered UPC to file a written submission, or a rejoinder by September 31 to allow the proceedings to continue.
Eight candidates were cleared by the electoral commission to run for president in the 2026 general elections in what has come to be famously known as “The 8 men’s race” . They are Yoweri Kaguta Museveni – National Resistance Movement (NRM), Elton Joseph Mabirizi – Conservative Party (CP), Robert Kasibante – National Peasants Party (NPP), Nathan Nandala Mafabi – Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Maj. Gen. Gregory Mugisha Muntu Oyera – Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu – National Unity Platform (NUP), Mubarak Munyagwa Sserunga – Common Man’s Party (CMP) and Frank Bulira Kabinga – Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP).
