A total of seven male candidates have joined the race to unseat Ms Santa Okot who is seeking re-election for the Aruu North parliamentary seat. The number of contestants now makes Aruu North County, predominantly represented by women since its creation 10 years ago, one of the hotly contested parliamentary seats in Acholi Sub-region.
The incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Aruu North County in Pader District, could be facing one of the toughest races in her political career that spans close to three decades . Ms Okot was in 2021, as the directly elected legislator.
Among the seven nominated candidates for the Aruu North County MP seat are Tonny Olanya Olenge, Alex Obalo, and George Oola, all on the independent ticket, National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s Wellborn Ottober Odiya, Robert Ling Lagoro (People’s Front for Freedom , George Kibwota (Democratic Party) and Patrick Obalo (Forum for Democratic Change). Ms Okot, standing on the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) ticket, will not be facing her closest political rival, Lucy Achiro Otim, after she opted to run for the District Woman MP seat.
Ms Achiro stated in a Facebook post that she will not run for the Aruu North MP seat because ‘Uganda’s politics does need honest people”. She also described some of her opponents as young and inexperienced. ‘These are young people who should be competing for the youth parliamentary seats,’ she said. In the 2021 General Election, Ms Okot, the only MP from the PPP in the 11th Parliament, beat six other candidates including, then incumbent, Lucy Achiro Otim (Independent).
According to the Electoral Commission results, Ms Okot garnered 9,498 votes, while her closest rival, Ms Achiro came second with 8,492 votes.
Others were Julius Peter Ochen of NRM (6,413), George Williams Onyango, (Independent, 528), Bernard Onen Okeny (FDC, 495), Robert Ling Lagoro (Uganda Peoples Congress, 248) and Charles Mwaka (DP, 148). In 2006, Ms Okot was defeated by NRM’s Christine Doreen Oketayot after she attempted to retain her seat. She also lost in 2016 to Ms Catherine Lamwaka, in Omoro District Woman MP race on the Independent ticket. Ms Okot is a household name in Acholi Sub-region. She was once a member of the NRM party before switching her political camp. But now seven candidates, all males, are threatening to end her political career.
A teacher by profession, she was appointed by the elusive Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader Joseph Kony to be part of his negotiation team at the Juba peace talks, which helped bring peace to northern Uganda. Ms Okot attended Christ the King Teachers Training College in Gulu District and later joined Shimoni Core Teachers Training College. She also attained a diploma in Education from Ngetta National Teachers College, after which she enrolled at Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi for a bachelor’s degree in Democracy and Development Studies from 2003 to 2005.
Ms Okot has been leading the fight against environmental degradation, land rights, and youth and women empowerment in her constituency. She is one of the politicians who opposed leasing Aswa Ranch to private investors. To achieve that, Ms Okot distributed tree seedlings to young groups in Aruu North and also sought audience with President Museveni over the Aswa Ranch land dispute. Political analysts described the number of male candidates against the veteran politician as gender stereotyping. Ms Vicky Laker, noted that several voters still hold the view that women cannot make good leaders.
Ms Laker added that because of such kind of mentality, several people still doubt women’s capacity and ability to lead. However, she said Ms Okot still has an advantage over other candidates. ‘She is a very experienced leader… Political dynamics always play to the incumbent’s advantage. So, I think she still has an upper hand,’ Ms Laker said. Mr Brilliant Tito Okello agreed with Ms Laker, saying that Ms Okot has an edge over the other candidates. ‘She is working to retain her seat. So, she might beat the newcomers,’ he said.
However, he warned that other candidates might take advantage of allegations that some organisations and financial institutions used her name to scam unsuspecting members of the public. Ms Beatrice Okot, a political analyst, said Ms Okot may face a lot of questions regarding her attempts to extent her stay in Parliament. ‘There are so many unresolved issues that will give the incumbent a hard time. For instance, the Aswa Ranch land question. The numerous cases of Nodding Syndrome in her constituency. These are some of the issues that Okot will face once she returns to her constituency to hunt for votes,’ she said. By press time, none of the seven male candidates had spoken to this publication regarding this story. They told our reporter that they were either busy or did not call back.
About Aruu North
Aruu North County was split from Aruu County in 2016. The first MP was Ms Lucy Achiro Otim, formerly of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
Ms Santa Okot (PPP), who won in 2021, is seeking re-election for the Aruu North MP seat.
Her opponents are Tonny Olanya Olenge, Alex Obalo, and George Oola, all on the independent ticket; Wellborn Ottober Odiya, (NRM), Robert Ling Lagoro (PFF), George Kibwota (DP) and Patrick Obalo (FDC).