As Uganda heads toward the 2026 General Election, voters in Tororo District and the wider Sebei Sub-region have outlined a list of priorities they want the next president to address to improve service delivery and livelihoods.
In the 2021 elections, President Museveni garnered 86,248 votes (58.38 percent) in Tororo District, defeating his closest challenger, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, of the National Unity Platform (NUP), who received 54,556 votes.
However, many voters now say their expectations from the government remain unmet and want concrete action before the next polls. At the top of Tororo’s demands is the operationalisation of the proposed three new districts and a city, which were carved out of the old Tororo District but have yet to become functional.
Tororo Municipality MP Yeri Apollo Ofwono said residents believe implementing these administrative units would improve service delivery and reduce governance bottlenecks.
Health services under strain
Health service delivery also dominates the list of voter concerns. Mr James Onyango, the district councillor for Nagongera Sub-county, urged the government to upgrade existing health centre IVs-Mukuju, Nagongera, and Mulanda-to hospital level and elevate Tororo General Hospital to a regional referral hospital.
‘Our district hospital is overstretched. Upgrading these facilities would ease congestion and reduce the distance patients travel to access care,’ Mr Onyango said.
He added that a regional referral hospital in Tororo would serve neighbouring districts, including Busia, Namisindwa, Manafwa, Butaleja, and parts of western Kenya.
War victims’ compensation
In Lyolwa Sub-county, local leaders are demanding compensation for victims of the Alice Lakwena insurgency, which devastated parts of eastern Uganda in the late 1980s. Mr Benjamin Oketcho, the chairperson of Lyolwa, said the community has waited in vain since presenting a compensation memo to President Museveni in 2015.
‘Many lives and properties were lost during the Lakwena war. Just like the government has compensated victims elsewhere, our people also deserve justice and recovery support,’ he said.
Infrastructure development remains a sore point for many locals. Ms Miria Okumu, the district councillor for Paya and Sere sub-counties, urged government to tarmac the Tororo-Nagongera-Busolwe road, which she said has appeared in annual budgets for years without progress.
Former journalist and now LC5 aspirant Paul Gonza called for the establishment of regional nursery seed beds for coffee and cocoa, saying these crops have been identified as new cash crops for Bukedi Sub-region to replace cotton.
Leaders are also demanding revival of the Oriental Industrial and Business Park project along the Tororo-Jinja highway, which has stalled since its groundbreaking in 2024.
Mr Lukas Okamar, the chairperson of Kayoro Sub-county, said the park was expected to host 10 factories and create more than 1,000 jobs.
‘It was supposed to be built by a consortium of Chinese investors, but nothing has happened since the groundbreaking,’ he said.
In addition, residents of Malaba Town Council are calling for the long-awaited construction of the Tororo Inland Port, while others want government to revive the Osukuru Phosphate Fertiliser Factory to make affordable fertiliser accessible to farmers.
Sebei’s demands
In the neighbouring Sebei Sub-region, voters are equally frustrated by the state of roads. Key roads in poor condition include Siron-Tumboboi-Ngangta, Kapsoyoy-Mariny, Kuryondet-Sanzara, Kapchesombe-Kwoti, and Kaserem-Kawowo, among others.
Locals say the poor road network has inflated transport costs, keeping farmers in poverty despite fertile soils. Rev Martin Chelangat of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church said farmers face additional challenges such as fake agro-inputs, lack of storage facilities, and limited markets for their produce.
‘Many farmers incur heavy losses after harvest because of poor storage and lack of value addition. Pests and fake seeds have also worsened the situation,’ Rev Chelangat said.
Mr Osman Sayekwo, the eastern youth coordinator for the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), said farmers are often cheated by middlemen due to the absence of local markets.
‘A bunch of matooke that costs Shs15,000 in town is sold for only Shs5,000 to middlemen in the villages. Farmers are being exploited,’ he said.
Mr Mark Cherop, a project officer with KACSOA, said the government should construct storage facilities at parish or sub-county level and support value addition to stabilise farm incomes.
Mr Fred Kiprop Sikuku, a senior agricultural engineer in Kapchorwa, said education, markets, and infrastructure must all be improved if poverty is to be reduced sustainably.
In Kween District, more than five sub-counties-including Ngenge, Chepsikunya, Giriki, Binyiny, Benet, and Sundet-still lack government-aided secondary schools. Mr Caleb Noah Cherotich, a resident of Kween County, also called for more classroom desks to improve learning environments.
Top demands
Operationalise three new districts and a city.
Upgrade Health Centre IVs to hospitals, Tororo District Hospital to regional referral.
Tarmac key roads; revive Oriental Industrial Park and Tororo Inland Port.
Establish coffee/cocoa seedbeds, build storage and value-add centres.
Supply desks, expand secondary schools in underserved sub-counties.
Compensate Lakwena war victims, address FGM cases.
Expand electricity connections.