Court blocks Akena’s third term bid for UPC presidency

The High Court of Uganda has declared the nomination of Jimmy James Michael Akena as Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) party president for the 2025–2030 term illegal, ruling that his bid for a third term violates the party’s constitution.

In a ruling delivered by Justice Bernard Namanya on July 18, 2025, the court ruled in favor of applicant Denis Adim Enap, who had challenged Akena’s nomination, citing Article 14.1(3) of the UPC Constitution, which limits the party presidency to two five-year terms, with an exception only if a sitting president wins Uganda’s national presidency.

Justice Namanya found that Akena, who first assumed the UPC presidency in 2015, had already served two terms: the first from 2015 to 2020, despite his election being quashed by the High Court, and the second from 2020 to 2025.

Relying on a 2020 Court of Appeal decision in UPC v. Prof. Edward Kakonge, the judge concluded that Akena’s first five-year tenure, though contested, remained valid because he continued in office under an interim stay order.

“There is merit in the applicant’s argument that Hon. Jimmy James Michael Akena was illegally nominated… considering that he had already served two full terms of five years,” Justice Namanya stated, ruling the nomination “illegal, void and of no legal consequence.”

The court subsequently issued orders of certiorari and injunction, quashing UPC’s decision to nominate Akena and restraining the party from further endorsing him as a candidate for the 2025–2030 term.

The ruling followed preliminary objections from UPC, which argued that Enap had bypassed internal dispute mechanisms and that courts had previously settled the party’s electoral issues.

However, the court dismissed these objections, noting that Enap had sought redress through party structures before filing the application.

In the interest of promoting reconciliation within the party, the court ordered each party to bear its own costs, citing Article 126(2)(d) of the Constitution.

The decision now throws UPC’s 2025–2026 electoral roadmap into uncertainty as the party must identify a new presidential candidate in compliance with its constitution.

This story is being updated.