Akena to battle his personal assistant for UPC presidential ticket

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Who will carry the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) party flag in next year's presidential race?

It will be a two-horse race, with party president Jimmy Akena set to flex for the top ticket against his personal assistant, Dennis Adim Enap.

This was announced on Thursday (May 22) by the UPC electoral commission chairperson, Hajji Mahmoud Kazimbiraine, during a press conference at the party headquarters in Kampala.

The UPC party Electoral Commision chairperson Hajji Mahmoud Kazimbiraine addressing a press conference at the party's headquarters in Kampala on May 22, 2025. (Photo by Francis Emorut)

UPC, one of the many opposition political parties in Uganda, will conduct its party structure elections from June 11 until July 3.

This will include the election of UPC village, parish, sub-county, district and city executives.

The climax will be the delegates conference that will see the election of the UPC flagbearer for the 2026 general election.

On Thursday, the nominated candidates received their certificates from the UPC assistant secretary general, Ben Bakkabulindi Kigongo in the presence of top party leaders.

Kazimbiraine cautioned the candidates against mud-slinging.

“I urge you to be positive while campaigning and not running each other down. Use the opportunity to project UPC programmes that are better than other political parties," he said.

"UPC has a lot to show Ugandans.”

Akena raring to go

Akena, who also represents Lira East Division in Parliament, is looking to be on the presidential ballot for the first time.

The 57-year-old son of two-time Ugandan president Apollo Milton Obote used his nomination acceptance speech to swipe at the ruling NRM party.

The UPC party president Jimmy Akena (left) receives nomination certificate from party assistant secretary general Ben Bakkabulindi Kigongo as the electoral commission chairperson Hajji Mahmoud Kazimbiraine looks on at the party's headquarters in Kampala on May 22, 2025. (Photo by Francis Emorut)

He alleged that the NRM orchestrated and rushed to pass laws that don’t favour opposition political parties, specifically mentioning the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

Parliament passed the bill on Tuesday (May 20), having been introduced on May 14 by Napak district Woman MP Faith Nakut.

The legislation obliges government to finance political parties and organizations represented in Parliament that hold an official membership to the Inter-Party Organization for Dialogue (IPOD).

IPOD is a self-governing body through which parties convene for structured dialogue.

Akena claimed that the "NRM regime is shaken" and that he is going to mobilize the population to vote NRM out.

“I am available to mobilise the population from the grassroots level and reshape the future of Uganda. It will be an honour to carry the UPC flag in the 2026 presidential elections. Let’s organise and strengthen the party and I appeal for your support,” said the party president.

His mother, Miria Kalule Obote, carried the UPC flag in the 2006 presidential election. She emerged with the least vote percentage (0.82%) in a five-way race won by NRM's Yoweri Museveni.

Amb. Olara Otunnu was the UPC presidential flagbearer in the 2011 poll. He finished fourth (1.58%) in an eight-horse contest also won by incumbent Museveni.

UPC fielded no presidential candidate in the two subsequent general elections (2016 and 2021).

Enap eyes top ticket

This time around, UPC hopes to be back on the top ballot. 

Akena's challenger for the presidential ticket, Enap, is a lawyer by profession who had opposed the party structure elections through adult suffrage. His argument is that, according to the party’s constitution, only the districts conference and the delegates conference are mandated to elect the party flagbearer.

The UPC party presidential candidate Dennis Adim Enap (left) receives nomination certificate from party assistant secretary general Ben Ballabulindi Kigongo at the party's headquarters in Kampala on May 22, 2025. (Photo by Francis Emorut)

Enap, 40, also argued that adult suffrage was only a proposal mooted in 1988 while former President Obote was in exile in Zambia and was never adopted.

He said UPC does not have the financial muscle to conduct adult suffrage elections.

On his UPC presidential ambitions, Enap promised to revive UPC's glory of old.

The party's legal advisor and Akena's personal assistant, Enap hails from Busoga region and is a practising advocate of the High Court.

He joined UPC in 2008 while at Makerere University in 2008 as a Guild Speaker. Later, he unsuccessfully contested in the parliamentary elections in 2011 and 2016.