Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party president Jimmy Akena has raised alarm over what he describes as a troubling development involving the alleged disappearance of his and his wife’s names from the national voter register, a move he says could undermine their participation in the upcoming 2026 general elections.
Speaking at an emergency press conference held September 3, 2025 at the UPC party headquarters at Uganda House in Kampala, Akena claimed that both his and Gender Minister Betty Amongi’s voter details were missing from the Electoral Commission (EC) register for Lira City.
The couple had recently shifted their political focus to the area, with Amongi preparing to contest the Lira City Woman MP seat, currently held by Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng.
“We were shocked to discover this morning that our names do not appear in the Electoral Commission’s register for Lira City, including at the polling station where I have cast my vote for the past two decades,” Akena told reporters.
Amongi, who currently represents Oyam South in Parliament, had transferred her voter registration from Oyam District to Lira City earlier this year, a move signaling her intent to take on Aceng in a high-stakes contest.
According to Akena, Amongi first attempted to confirm her new registration through the EC’s online portal, but her details could not be found.
Repeated attempts yielded the same result.
“When she changed her voting location, my own name was still on the list at our usual polling station. Now, neither of us appears, yet our daughters are still registered there. Something isn’t adding up,” Akena said.
In a further twist, Akena also revealed that Denis Odongo Odur, Amongi’s campaign manager and a mayoral aspirant for Lira City East Division, also discovered his voter details were missing.
“These are not coincidences,” Akena remarked. “We are now conducting a full audit of the Lira City voter register to establish the extent of these irregularities. The integrity of the electoral process is at stake.”
The development comes amidst ongoing leadership wrangles within UPC.
In July, the High Court ruled that Akena, having served two terms, was ineligible to seek re-election as party president under Article 14(1)3 of the UPC constitution.
However, a faction of UPC loyalists moved swiftly, holding an extraordinary delegates’ conference that extended Akena’s term by 12 months, effectively keeping him as the party’s flagbearer heading into the 2026 elections.
The move has since been contested by party rivals Joseph Ochieno and Dennis Adim Enap, both of whom have picked nomination forms from the national Electoral Commission and declared themselves rightful contenders.
