For nearly two decades, the relationship between President Museveni and Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) party president Jimmy Akena Obote has oscillated between cooperation and confrontation, defying conventional Opposition politics.
Bound by personal history, political pragmatism, and shifting national interests, the unlikely rapport has seen Mr Akena, son of former president Apollo Milton Obote, at times align with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), even as he leads an Opposition party.
However, recent developments suggest that the once-cordial ties may be entering their most strained phase yet. ‘In 2006, Jimmy Akena offered himself as a MP for Lira Municipality by then and we had hopes in him that in 2011, we were going to face the national challenge,’ Mr Jimmy Awany, an Independent candidate for the Lira City West MP seat, told this publication on December 12. ‘But in 2011, we had another UPC presidential candidate, Dr Olara Otunnu, whom we did not support as a party, for reasons best known to my friend, Akena, and his family, and a few members of UPC.’
In 2016, when Mr Akena took the mantle as the party president of UPC, his followers had hopes in him, and they were excitedly preparing for the 2016 presidential election.
‘We were told, you know, we are not yet ready, we need to mobilise; we need to put structures here and there, and we waited, but at the same time we were being instructed to go and not only sit but vote for another candidate, in the name of President Yoweri Museveni, which we did, as his loyal cadres,’ Mr Awany added.
In 2021, party supporters were again approached for the third time to vote for President Museveni because UPC had failed to front a candidate, according to Mr Awany.
‘And we did exactly what our party president and the top brass of the party wanted us to do. Our expectation was that in 2026, we were now going to battle it out with the rest of the other parties across this country, but to our dismay, we started seeing some kind of gimmicks being played here and there,’ he said.
Mr Awany said at this point, he and other members approached Mr Akena, and they discussed his candidature for 2026. ‘Now, when things were getting out of hand, the few of us who are strong-hearted went on the radio, and we stated clearly that the UPC constitution, article 14(3) bars Akena from contesting as the party president of UPC, and secondly as the president of the country, under the Uganda Peoples Congress,’ he explained.
However, the tables turned when Mr Akena was blocked from contesting for the presidency in the 2026 General Election.
The Electoral Commission (EC) disqualified Mr Akena, along with Mr Joseph Ochieno and Mr Dennis Adim Enap, from contesting for the presidential nomination under the UPC ticket, citing their ineligibility to hold a valid UPC party card as required by the party’s constitution.
EC’s decision stemmed from UPC’s internal wrangles, with Akena’s leadership term having expired without a formal extension by the party’s organs. However, while addressing journalists at the party headquarters on December 10, Mr Akena claimed Mr Museveni, who is the NRM presidential candidate, was the mastermind of his disqualification He urged his supporters to vote the other presidential contenders, but not Mr Museveni. There are eight candidates in the presidential race.
‘I want to tell you, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is responsible for my disqualification, and I have been telling all members who support Akena that Museveni is responsible for my disqualification. Whoever wishes to vote for Akena, please don’t vote for Museveni; rather, vote for one of the other seven candidates. And if you don’t want any of them, write my name, Akena, on the ballot,’ he said.
Mr Museveni had previously praised Akena’s UPC faction, stating he was happy to work with them. However, Mr Akena now claims Museveni is behind his electoral woes.
The once-cooperative duo is now at odds, with Mr Akena urging his followers not to vote for Museveni. In October, President Museveni downplayed Akena’s allegations of his interference in his disqualification from the presidential race, saying he wasn’t even aware of Akena’s candidacy.
‘Not at all, I didn’t even know that Akena Jimmy wanted to stand for president. I just saw it in the papers, I tried to check, and I found that it was mainly a legal problem on their side, so it was legal. It was not political,’ said Mr Museveni.
The Member of Parliament for Lira City East Division previously claimed that he was locked out of the 2026 presidential race for an obvious reason. ‘I had created a pathway which was going to upset or put the 50 plus 1 equation into jeopardy, and that would have changed the whole dynamics of the politics and also changed the dynamics of the interactions which we’re going to have,’ Mr Akena told this publication at his home in Akokoro Town Council on November 11.
He added: ‘And those who are fearing and concerned about what they’re trying to create as a transition, they are fearing that if other players are able to establish themselves among the electorate, it will upset their plans in the future. So, mine is for the people. Whatever happens, if the people benefit, I have no problem.’
This bitter fallout highlights the complexities of Ugandan politics, where alliances are forged and broken with ease. However, senior members of UPC and the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in Lango have disowned Akena’s remarks, with some declaring support for President Museveni instead.
Mr Joel Okao Tema, a member of FDC, also a resident of Lira City, sharply disagreed.
Mr Okao said it is difficult to believe that the Member of Parliament of Lira City East Division has a valid claim in relation to being blocked from appearing on the ballot paper by anybody.
He said: ‘Scapegoating any individual for his own failure will not address the questions that he needs to address to make sure that he can be on the ballot paper in 2031. Some of these issues are structural issues in the Uganda Peoples Congress.’
‘Some of these issues relate to the requisite academic documents. Some of these issues relate to the internal organisation within the party. I can say here confidently that unless he addresses those issues that are internal, he may still not be able to appear on the ballot paper in 2031, even if that were to be possible,’ he added.
Mr Okao urged citizens to prioritise issues over personal grievances: ‘As the people of Lango, we do not want to be diverted on a wild goose chase. We want to focus on the issues that matter because in the next five years, we cannot be absent from the development discourse and the transitional agenda that this country is already implementing.’
Mr Awany also urged the people of Lango to focus on constructive dialogue and issues that drive progress, rather than getting swayed by emotional appeals. He said the region’s future depends on informed, peaceful, and issue-driven choices.
‘Now, among the eight presidential candidates, we have our constitutional right to choose one from them. I want to urge the people of UPC, it is your right to go openly, mobilise for the presidential candidate of your choice. And in this case, we are saying we mobilise for President Museveni, because we still see something in him,’ said Awany.
Another senior member of UPC, Mr Patrick Okwir Jaramogi, said Akena’s woes were self-inflicted. ‘The UPC political party I strongly believe in has made no mistake, but I think people who have held offices have made tremendous mistakes, which unfortunately they want to blame on other people,’ said Mr Okwir.
Mr Akena declined to comment on the criticism directed at him when contacted yesterday. Akena’s wife appointed minister After the elections of 2016, President Museveni appointed Akena’s wife, Betty Amongi, as the minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development on June 6, 2016 and she held the post until December 14, 2019. Amongi, who is the current minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, and also Member of Parliament representing Oyam County South, served as Minister of Kampala Capital City, effective 14 December 2019 up to 2021.
However, NRM members have been pushing for her sacking from the Cabinet, alleging that her husband has now become ‘disrespectful and big-headed’.
Marriages of convenience
UPC is not the only political party that entered into a political marriage of convenience with the NRM. A year after the 2021 General Election, the President General of the Democratic Party (DP), Mr Norbert Mao, signed a cooperation agreement with Mr Museveni in July 2022. In the 42-clause agreement, the two parties not only agreed to share political power but also to foster Constitutionalism and the respect of human rights. The DP agreed to cooperate with NRM in supporting the overall governance agenda for the full term (2021-2026) of the Parliament.
Mr Mao was appointed the minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, a position that had been unoccupied for one year. The NRM supported the bid of Mr Gerald Siranda, the secretary general of DP, for a seat in the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala). It was also agreed that the DP would propose up to four individuals for appointment to departments, statutory bodies, and government agencies, the portfolio of which would be discussed and agreed upon in advance by both parties. This publication could not establish if this was implemented.
Officials from the DP, led by the national vice president, Fred Mukasa Mbidde, in April this year, kick-started the process of terminating the agreement after citing the failures of the pact.
This was, however, halted when Mr Mao and Mbide reconciled. Mr Mao opted not to contest for the presidency. He joined the race for the Loro-Pece parliamentary seat in Gulu.
Likewise, Ms Beti Kamya, the founder and former President of the Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA), also benefited from the NRM regime after working with it informally and later joining it directly.
Ms Kamya, a former member of Reform Agenda and FDC, held two ministerial positions of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and Kampala Capital City Authority. She was later appointed the Inspector General of Government.
Before holding these positions and joining the party in March 2020, Ms Kamya was among the top critics of Mr Museveni’s rule, and in 2011, she participated in the presidential elections, where she emerged fifth, 52,782 votes. She had previously served as the Member of Parliament representing Rubaga North Constituency on the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) ticket from 2006 until 2010. She had also pushed for a referendum to trim the powers of the presidency, but the same never materialised as she eventually had an understanding with Mr Museveni.