By Leonard Kamugisha Akida
KAMPALA
The rift between Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) president Jimmy Akena and Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) director of mobilization Daudi Kabanda has deepened, with Akena accusing him of undermining the rule of law through public threats and intimidation.
Addressing journalists at UPC headquarters, Uganda House in Kampala on Wednesday, Akena questioned the authority under which PLU officials were issuing threats of arrests and prosecution against political leaders.
“What is PLU? Is it the police? No. It is only the police that investigate and the courts that try cases,” Akena said.
He condemned what he described as “trial by social media”, arguing that every Ugandan is entitled to a fair hearing before being pronounced guilty.
“Every citizen must have a right to a free and fair trial. Investigation is done by the police and, when satisfied, the file goes to the Director of Public Prosecutions. Those institutions are not supposed to be directed by anybody,” he said.
Akena warned that allowing individuals outside the established justice system to announce investigations, arrests or convictions would erode the country’s democratic and legal institutions.
“If somebody can simply come from somewhere, issue orders to investigators and those who are supposed to judge, then Uganda has gone to the dogs,” he said.
The exchange follows a series of public attacks by Kabanda, who accused Akena of criticizing Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba and warned him to stop.
Kabanda also alleged that Akena’s wife, former Gender minister Betty Amongi, was being investigated over alleged corruption during her tenure in government between 2016 and 2026. He claimed investigators were examining how she acquired prime properties in Kampala and suggested she could face prosecution.
He further described Akena as an illegitimate UPC president and threatened that PLU would not hesitate to remove him from Uganda House if he continued criticizing Gen. Muhoozi.
On Monday, the UPC parliamentary caucus held a meeting in which they announced they were rallying behind Akena, dismissing Kabanda’s remarks and reaffirming him as the party’s legitimate president.
“We shall not allow any person imposed on us by other people,” Oyam North MP Dr Eunice Opio said on behalf of the caucus.
Despite the show of support, Kabanda maintained that Akena’s leadership of UPC was coming to an end, claiming that most UPC MPs did not recognise him as the party president and asserting that he would soon vacate the Uganda House offices.
“Akena will cease to occupy that office this week,” he said, threatening arrest against Amongi.
Neither the Police nor the Director of Public Prosecutions had commented on Kabanda’s claims regarding alleged investigations into Betty Amongi by Wednesday evening.
