Patrick Oboi Amuriat: Biography, Age, Education, Family and Political Career

Who is Patrick Oboi Amuriat? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, education, family, relationship with Nathan Nandala Mafabi, 2026 presidential flag bearer and political career of the current president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

Patrick Oboi Amuriat aka POA is a Ugandan politician, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president and presidential candidate 2021, general elections. 

He is the FDC party president having won elections in November 2017.

POA is a teacher, Civil Engineer, Livestock farmer and progressive politician. He’s so passionate about education and skilling of young people. 

FDC party was founded on 16, December 2004. It was founded under the umbrella body dubbed Reform Agenda, formed by the disenchanted former members and followers of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) leader, led by Rtd Col. Dr Kizza Besigye Kiffefe.

Its first president was Dr Kizza Besigye, former Museveni’s ally, the four-time presidential candidate and now leader People’s Government. 

Besigye refused to contest for the fifth time in the presidential race claiming he’s nurturing Plan B to remove the incumbent Museveni if at the ruling government happens to steal votes once again.

Dr Besigye was FDC presidential candidate in 2001, 2006, 2011 2016 general elections. Then in November 2012, Mugisha Muntu took over office as the FDC President serving until November 2017 when he was defeated by Patrick Oboi Amuriat the current FDC President until 2022.  

Early Life and Education

Engineer Patrick Oboi Amuriat was born in Soroti District, in the Eastern region of Uganda to Mzee John Amuriat of Kogili, Kanyum, current Kumi District and the Elizabeth Aciro Amuriat hailing from the present day Omoro District, Northern Uganda.

Amuriat was raised and received his early education in Soroti then in Lango and Makerere University Kampala.  

He holds a Diploma in Education, from Makerere University, BSc. Engineering, Makerere University and Master of Science in Engineering and skilling of young people.

Work and Experience

Engineer Patrick Oboi Amuriat worked in several local and international Engineering firms and community development organizations and had a stint in public service working with Kumi District as a district engineer.

Political Career

Patrick Oboi Amuriat joined active politics in 1994. His first contest was during the Constituency Assembly (CA) elections. 

In 1996, Amuriat was the official interpreter and campaign chief of opposition presidential candidate Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere in Teso and Karamoja sub-regions.

Inspired by the strong views of the FDC founding leader Col (Rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye, Amuriat joined Reform Agenda current FDC, actively teaming up with the campaign teams, which kept returning good results from his native Teso region. This he revealed in his 1999 communiqué.

Later, as MP, Amuriat was part of the Parliamentary Advocacy Forum (PAFO) chaired Augustine Ruzindana.

Amuriat is one of the founding members of FDC. He was part of its historic events, which eventually turned into the most popular opposition party in the Pearl of Africa.

He served continuously as Member of Parliament for 15 years, from 2001-2016. At Parliament, Amuriat chaired the committees of Science and Technology and Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE).

Amuriat was a key member of the Committee of Works and Transport for his entire time in Parliament. Amuriat displayed exceptional management skills the time he served as a committee chair for the two bodies. 

He always distinguished himself as an opposition member and spoke out against what he called repressive policies of the NRM regime.

POA was a member of the Parliamentary Advocacy Forum (PAFO) chaired by Hon. Augustine Ruzindana while at Parliament.

Amuriat has served his party unremittingly and constantly made a monthly financial contribution to the party for ten years towards the purchase of the party’s headquarters in Najjanankumbi.

In 2015, Amuriat was deployed as Chief National Field Coordinator to the FDC presidential flag bearer, Dr Kizza Besigye. He is proud and happy to be on the FDC team, which claimed to have won the 2016 elections.

Amuriat is the FDC party president having won elections on November 24, 2017, in the 7th FDC National Delegates Conference that was held at Mandela National Stadium, becoming the third president after Maj. Gen. Gregory Mugisha Muntu (2012-2017) and Dr Kizza Besigye (2005-2012).

POA is the FDC presidential flag bearer for the 2021 general elections; his campaigns are based on a slogan popularly known as “Defiance Campaigns”. Amuriat moves barefooted in all his campaign trails arguing that it’s a demonstrated for losing his pair of shoe on the nomination day.

He lost his shoes while on his way to his office to pick some of his crucial documents. Along the way, he was ambushed by Police and amidst the scuffle, Amuriat claims he lost his shoes.

Patrick Amuriat became the party’s presidential flag bearer after Rtd Col. Dr Kizza Besigye Kiffefe, the four-time presidential candidate refused to yet again take on the race. He was endorsed as FDC presidential flag bearer after his immediate competitor Amb. Wasswa Birigwa pulled out of the race. 

2026 presidential race

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president Patrick Amuriat Oboi has stepped out of the race to be the party’s presidential flag bearer in 2026, choosing instead to back his longtime ally, party secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi.

The surprise announcement came just a day before the party’s national delegates conference, set for today, 31 July 2025.

What had been expected to be a high-stakes contest between two of the FDC’s biggest names ended with a show of unity, carefully staged to send a message of stability.

Speaking at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Kampala, Amuriat – widely known as “POA” – pushed back against talk that he had been pressured to quit or feared defeat.

“This decision is not taken out of cowardice, nor fear of competition,” he told the gathering, his voice hoarse but firm. “I took this decision in the spirit of unity, to protect the togetherness of our party and ensure we move forward as one.”

Amuriat’s goals as FDC President

Focus in the running of the Party in a more decentralized manner.

Introduce a business arm of the party to operate in a pre-designed manner to generate funding such that FDC’s dependency on external funding is minimized.

A major priority was to ensure the commencement of the development of the Headquarters site into a Modern Trade Centre while housing the party.

Roll out business programs to the party branches on request and merit.

Return our Elders and Founders and those who offered distinguished service to the FDC, into decision making positions by causing an amendment to their party constitution to introduce accommodating structure to cater for them.

Strengthen and ensure the effective functioning of Youth and Women structures and establish Persons’ With Disabilities (PWD), Structures throughout the country.

Amuriat has made a lot of sacrifices for his party and Uganda, some of which have seen him being jailed by the regime authorities. 

However, besides these personal challenges, he’s more than ready to make even more sacrifices in the struggle to liberate the country from the long-serving regime.

POA is expected by FDC party members to ensure FDC, at worst, remains the dominant Opposition force after 2021, general election.

Eastern Uganda where POA hails from has never been represented in Uganda’s history of the Presidency. Nonetheless, there have been presidential candidates representing the area; Mr Aggrey Awori in 2001, Ms Maurine Kyalya in 2016 who lost to the incumbent.

So, this time, if Amuriat wins the 2021 elections, he will be the first to represent Eastern Uganda in the history of the presidency. Eastern Uganda this time has two candidates; Patrick Amuriat Oboi from Teso Sub-region, a region best known for supporting FDC, and Nancy Kalembe Linda, from Busoga Sub-region.

“I am a fighter and by defiance, we shall win. I will lead this front, while our competent, dependable and ever ready president, Dr. Kizza Besigye leads the plan B, which we shall combine,” Mr Amuriat said.

Dr Besigye was rumoured to take on the role of a special campaigner. Indeed Besigye rose and joined Amuriat in his Defiance Campaign move.

Amuriat’s term of office comes at perhaps the most difficult time in the party’s history. FDC has been the biggest opposition party; it had quite commanding numbers in Parliament since the 2016 General Election.

But, the split that saw former party president Mugisha Muntu decamp with some members to form another party Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) seems to have left FDC a weaker party.