By KT Reporter
In a bid to increase his chances to escape defeat by the strong DF candidate Richard Omara Awiyo, Otuke county MP Paul Omara has come under pressure from his key campaigners and advisors who want him to increase his relevancy and chances to be made a minister after Museveni’s re-election, by brokering a reconciliation deal between the disgruntled UPC president Jimmy Akena and president Museveni.
Omara has been advised that this can be achieved by taking Jimmy Akena, who is busy de-campaigning Museveni, to General Salim Saleh’s place in Kapeeka. That Saleh can listen to Akena’s grievances and reconcile him with the president so that the NRM presidential candidate’s chances to genuinely win Lango vote can be increased.
After being destroyed in the Lango media by Lira district chairman Marks Orick Okello over the Alel industrial park land scandal involving UIA/Chinese investors and the alleged 200m facilitation, the advisors think that solving Akena’s grievances and reconciling him with Museveni will help cleanse Omara’s image and increase his influence in the sub region.
This advice to broker the Akena-Museveni deal is coming up at a time Paul Omara, who many Otuke voters dislike for being too rich yet stingy and proud, is facing an uphill task to secure re-election against Richard Omara Awiyo who he defeated in 2021 with less than 200 votes. Omara is now the NRM flag bearer, after the rigging out of Awiyo who defeated him in party primaries in 2021.
Omara is now an independent MP for Otuke county but friendly to NRM whose leaders in Kampala are partly being blamed by his supporters for taking too long to make him a minister. Supporters believe that the day he becomes a minister, Paul Omara will be able to solve all his financial problems and even resurrect his factory project at Ngetta. It’s a race of 5 contestants but the major race is between Paul Omara, DF’s Richard Omara Awiyo and candidate Ojok Okello.
Paul Omara talks well on Kampala radios and TV but on the ground, the Otuke voters say that he can’t compare to giants like Omara Atubo who Otuke used to produce in the years gone by. Even his own supporters are ashamed that when New Vision reviewed the Hansard and ranked MPs from Lango sub region, a highly travelled, educated and exposed rep like Omara couldn’t even feature among the region’s best 15. Indeed, his re-election chances remain in balance, it isn’t yet certain that he will bounce back as Otuke county MP. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com.
