By KT Reporter
Three prominent opposition politicians in the Acholi Sub-region have launched what they describe as a coordinated, community-driven campaign centered on advancing the “Acholi Agenda” rather than partisan allegiance ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Kilak South MP Gilbert Olanya, former Gulu Municipality legislator Lyandro Komakech, and former Aruu County MP Samuel Odonga Otto have been campaigning jointly since early last month. Their collaboration marks an unusual but strategic alliance aimed at consolidating support for leaders perceived as community-centered at a time when the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) is tightening its grip in parts of the region.
Olanya, who is seeking to retain his Kilak South seat on the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) ticket, faces stiff competition from outgoing Amuru District Chairperson and NRM flagbearer Michael Lakony.
In Gulu City’s Bardege-Layibi Division, Komakech who lost his seat in 2021 is attempting a comeback against incumbent Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, a former opposition legislator who defected to the NRM.
Meanwhile in Aruu County, Otto is seeking to reclaim his seat from Christopher Komakech of the NRM.
Community-Driven Alliance
Lyandro Komakech told URN in an interview that the trio’s alliance is rooted in community consultations and reflects public sentiment on the need for credible, and issue-focused leadership.
According to Komakech, the decision for the trio to unite emerged directly from public calls for credible leadership.
He likened the current mobilization to the consensus-driven political era of the 1990s and early 2000s when leaders such as Minister Norbert Mao and Ambassador Michael Ochula were endorsed through broad community agreement.
Komakech emphasized that their joint campaign seeks to revive issue-based politics, including a stronger Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG) and renewed pressure on stalled policy areas such as post-conflict recovery, transitional justice, and legal aid reforms.
He further argued that opposition politics in Northern Uganda must evolve from mere confrontation to principled issue-based engagement.
“Opposing without an issue-driven agenda is hopeless. We must stand on clear issues that the government must address.” He said.
His counterpart Olanya reiterated that their merger isn’t aiming at criticizing political parties but for credible leadership based on the popular demand of the public.
According to Olanya, their major target is to look for leaders who will make their children proud and push the Acholi agenda forward.
He argued that Acholi must strategically position itself ahead of an inevitable national political transition.
“Uganda is going towards a transition. When that moment comes, Acholi must be somewhere.” He told URN.
Olanya openly supported Justice Minister Norbert Mao’s parliamentary bid in Laroo-Pece and that of Lilian Aber, the NRM Woman MP for Kitgum, insisting that Acholi’s priorities should transcend party lines.
Samuel Odonga Otto echoed the call for non-partisan mobilization, identifying land protection, environmental conservation, agricultural reforms, and justice for war-affected families as current priorities.
“What is in the best interest of our people is supporting the presidential directive on eviction from land and the ban on charcoal. It’s in the interest of our people,” he said.
Otto also revealed that the trio is not backing any national opposition presidential candidate this time.
Although he had previously declared he would never return to Parliament, Otto now describes himself as a “lifelong career politician.”
“In my four years in Spain, I established many international contacts. I want to build a sports hub, an Olympic-sized stadium. My contacts in Europe just need to see that I have a mandate.” Said Otto.
The trio’s alignment has triggered debate within Acholi and beyond, with some observers questioning whether their stance signals a softening toward the ruling government.
For years, Olanya and Otto have been among the most vocal critics of President Yoweri Museveni’s administration, frequently challenging government policy on land, governance, human rights and post-war reconstruction.
Veteran journalist and political analyst Alex Okoya dismissed the trio’s rallying message as misleading arguing that there is no officially agreed-upon Acholi agenda.
“Let them tell us where the Acholi agenda was drawn from and who drew it. These days anybody rises up with personal interests and claims it is for the Acholi people,” Okoya said.
He believes the politicians are simply consolidating their personal political strength ahead of the 2026 general election.
The trio has also strongly endorsed Minister Mao’s return to elective politics in Laroo-Pece, further raising speculation about shifting loyalties.
Has Acholi’s Opposition Stronghold Weakened?
For nearly two decades, the Acholi Sub-region stood as one of Uganda’s strongest opposition bastions, consistently electing majority non-NRM MPs. The FDC, UPC, and various independent anti-government voices dominated the political landscape.
However, recent electoral cycles have seen a notable shift, with more NRM candidates winning seats, a trend some attribute to opposition fragmentation, shifting voter priorities, and improved NRM mobilization.
Rosalba Oywa, an opinion leader in Gulu city however cautioned that Acholi must now think beyond opposition versus ruling party narratives.
She said the region should elect leaders based on character, integrity, and commitment to solving Acholi’s “unique and unresolved” challenges.
“We have unique problems, and we need to think of how to address them. The criteria should be the character of the person and their opinion about us as a people, we are not going to look at party colours.” She told URN in an interview.
She pointed to land grabbing, wartime trauma, and the stalled presidential Executive Order on evictions and charcoal production as urgent issues requiring bold representation from Acholi MPs.
This Is About Political Survival
Prof. Morris Ogenga Latigo, the former Leader of Opposition in Parliament disagrees with the emerging alliance and argues that the politicians’ message is not a genuine Acholi agenda but rather a strategic attempt to avoid political retaliation from the government.
Prof Latigo alleges many of the leaders now speaking of “Acholi unity” are doing so for self-preservation.
“Politics has a lot of deception. They are interested in saying they will back the government, but they don’t want to say they are supporting NRM so they hide under some Acholi agenda.” He said.
He said the trio’s campaign ignores what he calls the real Acholi agenda, oil and gas.
“The key Acholi agenda that none of them want to talk about is oil and gas because they know if you talk about it, you will be removed from politics the way I was removed.” He argued.
Latigo claims more than 60 percent of Uganda’s crude oil deposits lie within Acholi sub-region areas such as Jobi Rii, Gunya and Ngiri, stretching into both Acholi and Bunyoro, but that this has been erased from national discourse.
The Acholi Sub-region remains one of the poorest areas in Uganda, still burdened by the long-term effects of the two-decade conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and government forces. According to a 2022 report by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the region ranked the poorest at 67.5 percent in the country followed by Karamoja sub region.
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