Controversy at Uganda House is not about to end soon and the latest to emerge from the Uganda Peoples’ Congress headquarters is that the party’s newly-elected president is a ‘puppet’ of President Yoweri Museveni.
According to former UPC boss Olara Otunnu, Jimmy Akena is a beneficiary of financial support from president Museveni and therefore, an enemy of the party.
“Did Mzee Obote leave money for him, or is it Mama Miria? His source of finance is evidently the president because Akena does not have a business that makes all that money,” Mr.Otunnu said.
He added: “Hon Akena has evidently become a puppet to President Museveni; all the activities he is engaged in are null and void because they are illegal,” Mr.Ottunu said adding: “These activities are attempts of taking UPC by force and impunity on behalf of Yoweri Museveni.”
Asked for evidence regarding the allegations, the former diplomat pointed out two other reasons that link Akena, who is also the Lira Municipality Member of Parliament, to the president.
Otunnu said that Akena receives favors from police and other state security officials who help him invade Uganda House, the party headquarters.
“The role of the police in all this is another factor, when police was called to throw out (Akena’s) intruders, they instead turned on us and locked us outside,” Otunnu said.
He added: “State operatives armed with pistols also stormed the party headquarters and helped Akena force the Electoral Commission to announce him president-elect, which is against the party Constitution.”
According to the UPC party constitution, one is called president elect after approval by the delegates’ conference; this is after going through the district quota elections. Akena won in the district elections but is yet to be subjected to the delegates’ conference according to Ottunu.
On July 1st 2015, Mr.Akena in his capacity as president elect of UPC convened a consultative meeting which was supposed to consist of the delegates conference members but the section opposed to him says the people in attendance that day were not members of the Delegates Conference.
During this meeting, Akena was sworn in as party president, something Otunnu maintains is illegal, while emphasizing that Akena has no right to call for a delegate’s conference.
“In the party Constitution, it’s only the president with legitimate power to call for a Delegates Conference; Akena is not president so I shall convene a legal and properly constituted delegate’s conference soon,” Otunnu said.
