Betty Amongi was first elected to parliament in 2001 as the woman member of parliament for Apac district and was re-elected in 2006 before being elected as the woman member for parliament for Oyam South in 2011 and 2016.[5] In a surprise move following the 20 February 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections, President Yoweri Museveni of the ruling National Resistance Movement political party, named her Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, despite her affiliation to the opposition Uganda People's Congress.[6]
In a cabinet reshuffle on 14 December 2019, she was named cabinet minister of Kampala Capital City, switching dockets with Beti Kamya-Turwomwe, who took over at Lands, Housing and Urban Development.[2]
On 6 April 2013, Betty Amongi married Jimmy Akena, the member of Parliament for Lira Municipality and president of the opposition Uganda People's Congress. Jimmy Akena is the son of Milton Obote, the two-time former Prime Minister and President of Uganda. The traditional marriage took place in Minakulu sub-county, Oyam District and was attended by 32 members of parliament. President Yoweri Museveni, a friend of the couple, also attended the wedding.[7]