Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) Party President Jimmy Akena has been withdrawn from the Board that governs the Militon Obote Foundation (MOF), the organ that holds the party’s businesses including Uganda House. Sources said the decision to remove Akena from the MOF Board was taken on Monday during the Foundation’s extraordinary general meeting.
This follows years of friction between the Milton Obote Foundation and the Akena’s faction since his plot to ‘unlawfully’ take on the Presidency of UPC according to a faction of UPC. MOF has since been pushing him to vacate the party headquarters house at Uganda House along Kampala Road.
On Monday, the Board took a vote to sack Akena who is son to UPC founder and former President of Uganda Dr. Apollo Milton Obote from the board over alleged ‘misconduct’ exhibited when he allegedly flouted party rules to hijack the leadership.
The UPC Secretary General, Assistant Fred Ebil and the party spokesperson confirmed the development as true.
“He was suspended from membership by the Board of Governors some time back and today [Monday], the adjourned extra general meeting having considered the board’s report concerning his conduct,” Peter Walubiri the Chairman Board of Trustees at MOF disclosed to SoftPower.
Walubiri further said; “The assembly by majority vote after a secret ballot, agreed that his conduct was inimical to the aims, obectives and projects of MOF and decided, in accordance with Article 11 of the rules of association of MOF to terminate his membership with immediate effect.”
SoftPower understands that the general meeting had at Akena’s request extended time to enable him file a written defence which he did not do.
MOF is housed on the 10th and 11th floors of Uganda House while UPC party headquarters occupy the 6th floor. It is reported that Akena has at numerous occasions threatened to push the Foundation out of Uganda House since the animosity broke out between his faction and MOF.
Walubiri faction claim it is the same worsening relations after Akena was declared President that forced MOF to cease its funding to UPC and freezing of its bank accounts held in Orient Bank. A High court case filed by the Foundation had regarded the UPC electoral body declaration of Akena as null and void.
But Akena has for years resisted the mortgaging of Uganda House. He confirmed to SoftPower on phone that he had been pushed out of the Board out of “greed for properties.”
“Yes they’ve supposedly terminated my membership but this is essentially the end of a long-standing cold war and beginning of another phase. To the UPC audience, they claim I have been bought but it’s really greed for the properties,” Jimmy Akena said.
Four years ago reports were rife that MOF sought to mortgage Uganda House to ‘bail out’ UPC party which faced financial problems. Jimmy Akena and several members of the party resisted the move.
Akena said Uganda House is the property and Headquarters of UPC party and MOF was just a custodian.
“Some of these people pushing for the mortgage are in their 80s and they want to go for a 20-year mortgage, what is their interest?” Akena told media.
MOF manages Uganda House and a prime plot adjacent to it as well as a building in the Industrial Area, Kampala among other properties.