At 77, Jackson Dratibi is still in the business of politics. More than three decades after he first entered elective local leadership in Arua, Dratibi has won seven consecutive five-year terms as a councillor and has been appointed Deputy Mayor four times by different mayors.
His latest political chapter began in 2026, when he changed course and contested for the position of councillor representing older persons in Ayivu Division on the Arua City Council. He went unopposed. In June, the new Arua City Mayor, Lawrence Alionzi, popularly known as Dangote, appointed him Deputy Mayor, giving Dratibi another term in the city leadership.
For a man who has spent much of his adult life in public service, Dratibi says his political survival has less to do with political calculations and more to do with the relationship he has built with ordinary people.
Dratibi was born on September 9, 1948, to Kosia Ayile and Tabita Enyaru, both Anglican Church preachers in Vurra. He spent much of his youth participating in church activities, an experience he says shaped the values of honesty, humility, and service that would later define his political career.
Before becoming a politician, Dratibi was already known in his community as a medical practitioner. In the early 1990s, he used his personal clinic, then known as Mvara Clinic, to provide free malaria treatment to dozens of families in the Mvara area.
That interaction with ordinary residents would eventually become the foundation of his political career. In 1991, Dratibi entered elective politics and won the seat representing Mvara in the then Arua Hill Division of Arua Municipality, defeating his closest challenger, Nasur Okuti.He would leave office briefly, only to return in 1996 and win again. Between 1996 and 2001, he represented Mvara and served as Secretary for Health under Mayor Ali Khalifani. From there, his political journey became a succession of victories and leadership positions.
He won again between 2001 and 2006 and was appointed Deputy Mayor by Mayor Charles Asiki. Between 2006 and 2011, he returned to council and became Speaker under Asiki. He won another term between 2011 and 2016 and was appointed Deputy Mayor by then Mayor Hajj Isa Kato. He later resigned from the position for personal reasons and was replaced by Sarah Amony.
But Dratibi did not leave politics. He returned to council between 2016 and 2021, representing Arua Central Division, and was appointed Deputy Mayor by then Mayor Muzaidi Khemis. He won again in 2021, this time by a landslide, and retained his position as Deputy Mayor under Khemis until 2026.
Through all these political changes, Dratibi says one thing remained constant: his connection with the people. Some of his former and current constituents say his simplicity has helped him remain relevant for so long. They describe him as a politician who has remained accessible to people regardless of their social status, arguing that his personal conduct has earned him the trust of voters over the years.
His long association with the National Resistance Movement has also contributed to his political fortunes, according to some of his supporters, who say he has consistently promoted the party in the area. One voter described him as a repository of political knowledge and experience.
For Mayor Lawrence Alionzi, Dratibi’s greatest asset is not simply the number of elections he has won, but the experience accumulated during more than 30 years in local government. Alionzi says the lessons Dratibi has gathered over the years could help guide a younger generation of leaders.He describes the veteran councillor as a leader with experience, integrity, confidence and loyalty, qualities he says remain important in public leadership.
Dratibi’s political career has stretched across the transformation of Arua from a municipality into a city and through several generations of political leadership. He has served under different mayors, worked with successive councils and witnessed major changes in the way local government operates.
Yet at 77, he has no immediate plans to disappear from public life. His latest appointment as Deputy Mayor places him once again at the centre of Arua City leadership, even as many of the politicians he first encountered in the 1990s have long left the political stage. For his supporters, Dratibi’s story is not simply about surviving seven elections.
It is about a community doctor who first won people’s trust by treating them, entered politics by representing them, and has spent more than three decades trying to retain that trust. In a political world often marked by rapid changes, Dratibi’s longevity has made him something of an institution in Arua local government politics-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
