When the President handed Teso the position of Vice President and a series of other ministerial appointments after the 2021 elections, many Iteso believed the region’s long-awaited dream of unity and development had finally become a reality. However, divisions have since emerged, particularly following the government’s probe of former Speaker Anita Among.
The 2021-2026 term placed Teso in a privileged position after President Museveni appointed Maj (Rtd) Jessica Alupo as Vice President, with Ms Annet Anita Among emerging as Speaker of Parliament, Gen Jeje Abubakar Odongo as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Musa Ecweru as Minister of State for Works.
Others appointed included Kenneth Ongalo Obote as Minister of State for Teso Affairs; Hellen Adoa as Minister of State for Fisheries; Mr Peter Ogwang as Minister of State for Sports; Kenneth Omona as Minister of State for Northern Uganda, and Sidronius Okasai Opolot as Minister of State for Energy.
Residents were excited that President Museveni had entrusted Teso with several high-ranking political positions in the 2021-2026 government. However, Mr Clement Oluma, a private agricultural extension officer in Amuria District, observed that there is little tangible evidence of what the Vice President, the former Speaker, and other ministers have delivered for Teso. Mr Oluma accuses them of creating two rival camps, with bitter public spats often playing out among their junior lieutenants.
‘These fights filtered down to the local governments. There are districts in Teso that the vice President never visited during her first term from 2021 to 2026, and the same was true of the former Speaker. Such fights left the Teso agenda unattended to. Instead, the bigshots concentrated on their constituencies and, even there, focused only on areas where they enjoyed popularity,’ he explained.
Mr Oluma added that despite Teso being placed close to the centre of power, there was no single unifying force through which the people could channel their interests. With a Speaker of Parliament presiding over the House where national budgets are approved, residents had expected key infrastructure projects, including roads in Kumi, Serere, the Soroti-Ochero road in Kaberamaido, and the Greater Amuria road linking to northern Karamoja, to be rehabilitated during the previous term.
He also said apart from Ms Among, who is no longer occupying a prominent position in Teso’s political landscape, the number of ministers from the region has declined. ‘It is now incumbent upon Jessica Alupo to seize the moment and rally Teso towards unity for the sake of development,” he said. In the new Cabinet, the President retained Alupo as Vice President, Mr Ongalo as Minister of State for Teso Affairs, Mr Ogwang as Minister of State for Sports, Mr Opolot as Minister of State for Energy. Mr David Calvin Echodu comes on board as Minister of State for International Affairs, pending Parliament’s clearance regarding his dual citizenship allegations.
Ms Grace Akello, Ms Alupo’s mobiliser in Toroma, Katakwi District, said apart from Mr Ogwang, who was considered a lieutenant in the former Speaker’s camp, the rest of the ministers appointed from Teso enjoy a cordial working relationship with the Vice President. Like Mr Oluma, Ms Akello believes the time has come for the Vice President to unite the region’s reduced ministerial team. She said one of the key priorities should be irrigation projects, particularly as changing climatic conditions continue to affect farmers.
‘I will not cry over the lost 2021-2026 term. With the Vice President still at the heart of government, she can help Teso achieve its goals. We pray that the ongoing restocking programme involving Shs5 million packages is completed as promised,’ Ms Akello said. She added that Mr Echodu, the NRM vice chairperson for the Eastern Region, has a good working relationship with Ms Alupo, increasing the likelihood that political fights which began during the NRM primaries and later escalated into regional divisions, will come to an end.
Ms Akello would also like to see every sub-county equipped with a Seed secondary school, arguing that this would benefit low-income earners who cannot afford fees at some of the traditional secondary schools. Mr Benson Ekwe, the Executive Director of Public Affairs Centre Uganda (PAC), agreed that beyond the political fights, there is always the influence of State machinery. He said it is time for appointed leaders to understand the limits and responsibilities of their positions within the system they serve. He argued that many politicians serving under the NRM are deluded into believing they wield significant power and must demonstrate it to people from their home areas.
‘But that is not the case. They are simply there to create the impression of an inclusive government, which is not always the reality,’ he said.
‘It was during the 2021-2026 term that key road infrastructure projects were removed from the list of national priorities, yet we claimed to have influential leaders at the centre of government,’ Mr Ekwe added. Mr Mark Egadu, a Forum for Democratic Change party supporter and mobiliser in Gweri County, Soroti District, said the divisions in Teso became more pronounced after the region increasingly fell under the control of the ruling party. He argued that before 2016, when the Opposition had a strong presence in Teso, it kept the government under pressure to fulfil its promises.
‘Every concern raised by the people no longer receives the attention it used to receive one and a half decades ago,’ Mr Egadu said.
He added that if it is genuinely in the government’s interest for Alupo to unite Teso, she may succeed. However, if the NRM government continues to thrive on divisions, then ‘my sister Alupo will fail to unite Teso.’