The list, released Tuesday evening, saw Gen. Jeje Abubaker Odongo removed as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Musa Francis Ecweru dropped as State Minister for Transport and Works, Ms Hellen Adoa Abeku removed as State Minister for Fisheries, and Ms Hellen Grace Asamo removed as Minister of State for Disability Affairs.
For many in Teso, the exit of Gen. Odongo was the biggest shock.
‘There are lots of surprises in the new cabinet, but shocking to me was the decision to have Gen. Haji Jeje Abubaker Odongo not surfacing anywhere in the new cabinet list,’ said William Ebiacu, a teacher in Ogolia, Orungo County, Amuria District.
Gen. Odongo, MP for Orungo County, has been in national politics since 1986. He served as Army Commander, MP for Greater Amuria County in the Constituent Assembly, and Minister for Defence before his tenure at Foreign Affairs. As a historical NRA fighter, he is credited with weakening UPC special forces in Teso during the bush war.
Despite what Ebiacu described as ‘little in terms of development in his motherland,’ he said Odongo’s presence at the national level protected Teso’s interests.
‘I will remember him as a sober man, level-headed who never engaged in political fights with opponents,’ Ebiacu said.
‘It seems the president has decided to rest the long-serving politicians from Teso politics,’ said Grace Apiding from Obur, Greater Asamuk Sub-county.
She added that Musa Ecweru, who lost his Amuria County MP seat but remained State Minister for Transport and Works, deserved another chance.
‘He remains a great mobilizer for his NRM party, and not recognizing that was a little harsh on the side of the president,’ Apiding said.
She noted that Ecweru helped improve roads in Amuria during his tenure, and feared the gains may not be sustained.
‘While serving as minister of state for transport and works, Ecweru helped improve the state of roads in Amuria. I am afraid maintaining the roads that he opened will not be possible for the district,’ she said.
Ecweru rose to prominence in 2006 after his role in countering the LRA incursion in Teso in 2003. He lost the NRM primaries to Samuel Ediau in 2025 and opted not to run as an independent, hoping to be retained in cabinet.
In Serere, the removal of Hellen Adoa was met with a different view.
‘Hon. Hellen Adoa, who lost her seat as Woman MP for Serere to Esther Lucy Acom, extremely served the people of Serere District, but the people turned against her because of the crimes committed by the army on the lake, since she was minister of state for fisheries,’ said Alex Okello, a resident of Soroti City originally from Serere.
As a supporter, Okello said dropping Adoa from the fisheries docket could help her political future.
‘That ministry trapped our sister into being disliked. Everything that happened on the lake was blamed on her. Dropping Adoa from that ministry serves them better; she can make a comeback in 2031,’ he said.