A section of leaders in the Teso Sub-region is up in arms after Speaker of Parliament Anita Among was, for the second term, controversially declared unopposed for the Woman Member of Parliament for Bukedea District, despite interest from other aspirants.
During the nomination exercise on Thursday, aspirants and their supporters were left dismayed after Bukedea District returning officer Joel Mugyenyi declared Ms Among unopposed, despite the Speaker’s opponents and journalists being blocked from accessing the nomination centre by security personnel commanded by Bukedea District Police Commander (DPC) Emmy Lorika.
But looks like what transpired in the eastern Ugandan town this week is a script borrowed from the previous general election. In 2021, would-be opponents Merab Amongin and Hellen Akol Odeke were dragged to court by a one Umar Okodel, who challenged their eligibility on the grounds of not being registered voters and residents of Bukedea. Ms Among again sailed through unopposed.
Shortly after being declared unopposed on Thursday, a video clip of the Speaker and her lieutenants celebrating inside the Bukedea District headquarters emerged, prompting reactions from a section of people of Teso, who took to various social media platforms. Ms Hellen Akol Odeke, the Speaker’s rival, says people in Bukedea are living in fear, and they are not allowed to question things that are not being done right for fear of reprisal from powerful circles in the district.
Ghosts from 2023 by-election
Mr Washington Calvin Opus, a resident of Mukongoro in Kumi District, says if President Museveni, also the NRM chairman, meant well when he called for investigation into the violence that marred the 2023 LC5 by-lection in Bukedea, then he should also call for an investigation into the mess that has surrounded the 2026 nomination exercise. ‘But before this happens, the report from the investigation that was conducted by Brig Gen Henry Isoke should be made public,’ Mr Opus says. He says if Uganda is to nurture its democracy, then the manipulation seen in Bukedea shouldn’t be tolerated. ‘I have been following the issues of Bukedea.
There is a syndicate between some of the powerful politicians, EC and some elements in the security, which is being done to suffocate the political interests of others,’ Mr Opus says. This is a concern echoed by Kevin Asio, who says ‘when this impunity is allowed to continue, it could spread to other regions of the country.’ ‘[In] Bukedea, when one questions those in power, they get arrested, their business suffocated and others taken in detention,’ says the resident of Bukedea. ‘The culture we are setting is not the best; it is killing political competition and, in the long run, service delivery,’ Asio says. However, Mr James Angura, who supports Speaker Among, says outsiders are trying to paint a bad picture of Bukedea. ‘We, the people of Bukedea, are happy with what the Speaker has done for us, and for now, there is no need to have a replacement,’ Mr Angura says.
He says in the last 10 years, Bukedea has been getting better services, ‘and we can’t miss such a development-oriented leader.’ Mr Angura supports the EC, saying matters surrounding some of the aspirants are still in court. ‘If court pronounces the case in their favour, then EC can go ahead and nominate them.’ But Mr Benson Ekwe, the Executive Director of Public Affairs Centre (PAC), says whatever is happening in Bukedea is a black spot in the political engagement of the country. ‘It is like a football league, when you bar other teams from contesting, then it becomes a fix,’ he says. Mr Ekwe says Teso Sub-region has two big political personalities – Speaker Among and Vice President Jessica Alupo – but in the case of Katakwi District, where the Vice President comes from, political contestation is being allowed. ‘I wonder what makes Bukedea so special that journalists and other Opposition candidates are being denied access to the EC.’
However, EC spokesperson Julius Mucunguzi says the best way to have the matters addressed is by having the aggrieved parties file formal complaints to the right entities: the courts of law and EC itself. ‘Verbal complaints can’t get redressed because they lack specifics,’ he says. On Thursday evening, NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, posted on X: ‘Here we go again! The whereabouts of our candidate for Bukedea Woman MP, Florence Asio, are unknown currently. Her phone number, as well as the phone numbers of the comrades she was travelling with from Soroti to Bukedea for her nomination, are all [switched] off! We’re in touch with their relatives who are desperately looking for them.
Conspicuously, comrade Alupo Mercy Marion, who was waiting at the EC offices all day, is also not reachable on phone at the moment- we can only hope she’s fine. Shamelessly. Anita Among is chest-thumping that she is unopposed!’
However, in a post on X on Friday morning, Mr Chris Obore, the Director, Communication and Public Affairs at Parliament, wrote: ‘Don’t invest in hating AAA [Annet Anita Among]. She will always defeat you in Bukedea. You think hiring our children to try to break her is a winning strategy? You got it wrong. Every meeting you held, we knew. She is unopposed. Now use your hired machinery on social media to rant. Bukedea has spoken.’
What they say
Mr Chris Obore, Parliament spokesperson:
Don’t invest in hating AAA [Anita Among]. She will always defeat you in Bukedea. You think hiring our children to try to break her is a winning strategy? You got it wrong. Every meeting you held, we knew. She is unopposed.
NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi:
Conspicuously, comrade Alupo Mercy Marion, who was waiting at the EC offices all day, is also not reachable on phone at the moment- we can only hope she’s fine. Shamelessly. Anita Among is chest-thumping that she is unopposed.
Emmanuel Dombo, spokesperson NRM party:
‘Hon Anita Annet Among, the Woman MP Bukedea, 2nd National Vice Chairperson, NRM, and Speaker of Parliament, has nominated, and therefore elected unopposed as Woman MP Bukedea District. We congratulate her upon this victory.’