Muntu blames govt operatives for ‘messing up’ UPC's Akena nomination

KWANIA - 2026 General Election presidential candidate Maj. Gen. (rtd) Mugisha Muntu has blamed the Government for messing up Jimmy Akena's nomination as a presidential candidate.

Muntu on Tuesday, November 12, 2025, told a packed rally at Ilomo trading centre, in Ilomo sub-county, Kwania district, that the botched nomination of Uganda People's Congress (UPC) party president Akena was the handiwork of “government interference” and not a failure of the Electoral Commission (EC).

The Electoral Commission (EC) blocked Akena’s nomination as UPC’s presidential flag-bearer for the 2026 General Election.

EC's decision came shortly after the High Court in Kampala, presided over by Justice Bernard Namanya, ruled that Akena’s nomination as UPC president for the 2025–2030 term was illegal, null, and void.

The decision followed a petition by UPC member Dennis Adim Enap, who challenged Akena’s re-nomination. The court also barred UPC from nominating him again.

Standing before hundreds of voters, many dressed in UPC attire, Alliance for National Transformation flag-bearer Muntu claimed the nomination process for Akena had been deliberately “messed up” by state officials seeking to derail traditional support in the region to favour the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government.

“I am the only one among the eight presidential candidates who can do what your son Akena wanted to do for the Lango region. President Yoweri Museveni and his government feared that with all these problems in your region, Akena would sweep all the votes and edge out NRM,” Muntu claimed.

“I’m now here to tap in Akena support, all independent candidates' support, and the disgruntled NRM members who no longer follow President Museveni’s endless promises but have been dreaming of a fair, free, and just Uganda where every citizen is valued,” he added.

Akena, whose party has since fielded local government and parliamentary candidates to galvanise UPC’s visibility and competition in Lango against the NRM, has been battling various cases in courts of law over internal party matters.

President Museveni infiltrated UPC

Muntu told the supporters: As we speak, it is only ANT which can offer you a trusted solution and change to bring back the politics of honesty in Uganda because President Museveni infiltrated the UPC, undermined it and weakened it to keep himself in power.

“Gen. Museveni wants to be the only intelligent man in the country. We saw him when he manipulated to change the term limits and the age limit, which took back our country, and that’s why we are now moving on a slippery path as a country.

1. Speaking to a crowd of farmers, bodaboda riders, and university students, Muntu outlined his five‑point agenda for Lango: Agricultural transformation through subsidised tractor hire and agro‑processing zones.

2. Education reform with free technical institutes

3. Health revitalisation by rebuilding district hospitals

4. Job creation via public‑private partnerships

5. Transparent governance by restructuring intelligence and security agencies to curb youth animosity.

“We will not sit idle while the youth are angry and the economy is bleeding,” he said, echoing sentiments from his recent tour remarks.

Voters sentiments

On the ground, voters expressed mixed feelings. Sarah Ocen, a 34‑year‑old mother from Kwania, said, “We need change, but we also need peace. If Muntu can bring jobs and fix our roads, we will listen.”

Conversely, Diana Ondoga, a resident, accused Muntu of “sowing confusion” and urged residents to “focus on development, not blame games.”