In a candid revelation that has set tongues wagging across Lango, Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) President Jimmy Akena has pulled back the curtain on the fierce battle that dethroned Government Chief Whip Denis Hamson Obua in Ajuri County. Speaking on QFM Lira, Akena declared he harbors no grudges against Obua, insisting the dramatic defeat stemmed from forces beyond Ajuri—hinting at deeper forces at play beyond mere voter choice.
The Ajuri race, culminating in a tense re-run on January 27, 2026, saw UPC’s school teacher Fred Jalameso edge out Obua with 16,336 votes to 15,568 after Electoral Commission-ordered repeats in 18 polling stations. What began as a contest between an entrenched NRM heavyweight and a modest challenger morphed into a high-stakes showdown. Akena, abandoning his own party’s internal storms—including his wife’s Lira City bid—swooped into Ajuri like a general marshaling troops.
He orchestrated a united opposition front, rallying UPC loyalists from Kampala, Gulu, and across Lango. Activists flooded the constituency, turning villages into battlegrounds of persuasion and promise. Whispers of cash flows—allegations of Shs30,000 per vote—added fuel, though Akena sidestepped direct comment, focusing instead on the “state’s” role in the upset.
Obua, the NRM Vice Chairperson for Northern Uganda, had boasted an enviable record: seed schools, upgraded health centers, water projects, ambulances, electricity extensions, and agricultural tractors. Yet, in Akena’s telling, these achievements couldn’t withstand the coordinated big forces assault on Obua.
“I don’t hold grudges and I cannot hold Hon. Hamson Obua because what happened was from the state,” Akena said, “and for me my politics ends with elections.” His words suggest external pressures—perhaps from Kampala’s power corridors—tipped the scales, echoing local claims of interference, halted tallies, and premature media declarations of defeat.
The loss marks a pattern in Lango, where NRM stalwarts tumbled amid opposition surges. Akena’s disclosure lays bare the raw mechanics of political warfare: unity, strategy, and perhaps unseen hands.
