Kampala, Uganda: The High Court in Kampala has dismissed a petition by Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) president Jimmy James Akena challenging the Electoral Commission’s (EC) decision to block him from contesting in next year’s presidential elections on the party ticket.
The EC disqualified Akena together with Adim Dennis Enapu during the presidential nomination exercise, ruling that neither of them was eligible to hold the UPC party flag under its constitution.
Akena petitioned the court seeking an order compelling the Commission to include his name on the 2026 presidential ballot.
However, in a ruling delivered via email on October 1, Justice Bernard Namanya rejected the application, noting that the petition was filed after the nomination period had already closed.
The dispute is rooted in UPC’s longstanding internal wrangles, with Akena’s leadership term having expired without formal extension by the party’s organs—an issue both the party and the Commission maintain disqualifies him from contesting for the presidency on the UPC ticket.
Despite the setback, Justice Namanya permitted UPC to proceed with nominations for other elective positions, including Members of Parliament, while the main case on the party’s leadership dispute continues.
Electoral Commission spokesperson Julius Muchunguzi said the Commission is still studying the ruling and will communicate its official position to stakeholders in due course.
UPC, one of Uganda’s oldest political parties, has endured two decades of leadership feuds that have weakened its structures, shrunk its membership, and left its very survival in question.
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