Despite a court ruling which nullified Jimmy Akena’s leadership of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), a candidate for the Nwoya woman parliamentary seat who had been endorsed by the Akena faction of the party insists the ruling does not affect her.
Brenda Atim Kinyera who was until the court ruling, the National Youth leader under Akena’s factionsays she is still the UPC flag bearer in Nwoya. Kinyera was nominated for the Nwoya woman parliamentary seat on December 3rd.
On Thursday last week, Justice Yasin Nyanzi declared the presidency of Akena illegal, saying it did not follow the UPC constitution.
Kinyera says she was not party to the suit which means it does not affect her. She was however elected National Youth Leader by the same ‘‘delegates conference’’ which elected Akena. In his ruling, Justice Nyanzi said whatever decisions Akena took while purporting to be the UPC president is null and void. And it includes endorsement of candidates for various offices in the 2016 elections.
Kinyera adds that even if Akena was thrown out of office, it would not been affect her since the matter in the main suit was not about who endorsed a UPC member to run for an electoral office.
On Tuesday, Dan Oola Odiya, the party’s Spokesperson for Acholi sub region said the court ruling on Akena makes Brenda Atim Kinyera’s nomination as a UPC candidate null and void.
The Nwoya District Registrar for the Independent National Election Commission Jessica Adong Ocen told Acholi Times that her office had not received any petition challenging the nomination of Kinyera.
UPC under the TDA – Uganda arrangement has nominated at least 10 candidates on independent tickets after Electoral commission rejected use of the party symbols until after the court ruling on the leadership dispute in the party.
