Akena swears self in as UPC president

Lira municipalty MP Jimmy Akena swearing in as UPC party president at Lugogo UMA Conference Hall, Kampala on Wednesday. Photo by Rachel Mabala 

By IVAN OKUDA & SHABIBAH NAKIRIGYA

Lira Municipality MP Jimmy Akena has been sworn in as the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) party president in an assembly described by critics and the outgoing party leaders as, “an insult on the UPC constitution and sheer comedy.”

One of the presidential aspirants Mr Joseph Bossa, also the outgoing vice president said, “This was sheer comedy because what has been done is completely outside the UPC Constitution.”

Mr Bossa further said, “It’s sheer self-deception and Mr Akena can’t stand as our party president and the days of carrying out coup d'etats with in political parties are over no matter how many times he is sworn in, he is going nowhere.”

On July 10, the UPC delegates conference was slated to meet, to among other duties, approve Mr Akena’s recent controversial election but sensing a botched meeting, given the fever high pitch hostility between himself and outgoing president Olara Otunnu, the Lira Municipality MP wrote to members of the party’s delegates conference, asking them to convene and discuss matters concerning the party. He said he had received numerous petitions and was calling a meeting as President elect.

Party members clad in red and blue, the two time in power party’s colours however watched in awe as Mr Higenyi Kemba, a delegate from Bunyole East moved a motion, “I want to move members to constitute ourselves into a delegates conference and approve Mr Akena as our president and swear him in.” he justified his motion, citing the rigorous election process Akena had gone through but Mr Bossa argues that the election was disowned by the party’s electoral body.

“Mr Akena and his group’s conduct is disturbing me and this made me to revise my position on recognizing him as UPC President. Why is he in a hurry? He has taken over by a coup deta and is occupying Uganda House with Police men, ”Mr Pulkol said.

Under the UPC constitution, the party president, in this case, Ambassador Olara Otunnu, who throughout the ceremony was chastised in song and speech, is mandated to call the delegates conference at least twice in five years with a clear agenda, venue and time frame. None of Mr Otunnu’s outgoing cabinet was present at the full house event yesterday as Mr Akena handed power over to himself. This newspaper could not independently verify the authenticity of the party delegates who were purportedly drawn from all districts but some members our reporters interviewed admitted, on condition of anonymity, “Akena group has the money and he oiled our hands. We are here to do the job!”

As events unfolded, East Africa Legislative Assembly MP and senior party member Chris Opoka was tasked to chair a session handling the motion, sitting side by side with Mr Akena who kept smiling throughout the event.

Mr Opoka, a lawyer said under article one of the constitution of Uganda, power belongs to the people and that the events that unfolded yesterday were in the same spirit and letter of the constitution. He however did not cite provisions under the UPC constitution that justified the macabre events.
He swiftly conducted an election in which 479 of the delegates voted in favour of Akena’s approval. In the district conference election, Mr Akena polled 67 districts, shooting himself several bars above the constitutional requirement of 37 districts of the country’s 112 districts. His election has however been challenged at the High Court and an election review committee instituted to look into allegations of voter bribery and intimidation of the Eng Andrew Buzzu led Electoral Commission.

In a strange twist of events however Mr Edward Sseganye, who claimed he was a member of the electoral commission pronounced Akena winner yesterday, holding his hand high up and congratulating him on behalf of the EC. He was later seen intimately consulting with and confiding in Ms Betty Amongi, the Oyam South county MP and Mr Akena’s wife who sat meters away from the high table with fellow UPC MPs and restlessly coordinated the Machiavellian pre written script of events that were boycotted by all the other eight contestants for the party’s top position.

Eng. Buzzu has however distanced himself from the election, saying the Akena group hijacked the election process.

“Jimmy Akena is therefore presented to the annual delegates’ conference for approval as per article 13(5) of the party constitution,” he said. As the announcements were made, a fringe section of the crowd seemed excited as others looked on in awe but appeared gagged with Akena’s vigilante groups marauding around the hall. Members who attempted to dissent were summarily mugged out of the hall with police officers looking on and occasionally aiding in the man-handling.

Mr Kiyemba Mutale a lawyer and commissioner of oaths who was hastily called in, dashed into the hall, sweaty and panting intimidatingly, visibly jumbled, donning a faded, stained suit with dust filled, worn out shoes later hurriedly drafted a handwritten oath, which he administered to Akena amid ululation and sloganeering. Mr Akena would later hand over power to himself with a symbolic handshake from members who lifted him shoulder high as he waved the open palm.

Tasked to explain the glaring anomalies that thrust one of Uganda’s oldest parties in dim light, Mr Patrick Mwondha, whom Mr Akena elected to coordinate the transition from the UPC regime to his told Daily Monitor in an interview, “the outgoing party president had refused to call the delegates conference indefinitely and all roads were closed, the only open way is what you see here today.”

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com