By KT Reporter
The Secretary General of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), Richard Todwong, has stepped up campaign efforts in Nwoya District, holding a series of rallies to shore up support for the party’s parliamentary and local government candidates ahead of the January 15 general elections.
The intensified push comes amid tightening competition from opposition and independent candidates in a district long regarded as politically significant to the ruling party.
Todwong has traversed Paminyai, Alero, and Lungulu sub-counties, urging voters to rally behind NRM flag bearers contesting for Nwoya East County, Nwoya County, the district Woman Member of Parliament seat, and the LCV Chairperson position. Among those he campaigned for is former Nwoya Woman MP Lilly Adong, who is seeking a political comeback through Nwoya East County, after losing the 2021 elections.
Todwong also drummed up support for former Nwoya District LCV Chairperson Patrick Okelo Oryema, who recently defected from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) to the NRM, and Christine Awany, popularly known as Mego Larem, the NRM flag bearer for the Woman MP seat. In Lungulu Sub-county, Todwong rallied voters behind Tony Awany, the NRM candidate for Nwoya County, who is seeking a second term in Parliament.
Addressing residents during his first rally at Paminyai Primary School, Todwong argued that constituencies represented by opposition politicians tend to lag in development. He singled out Nwoya East County, claiming that opposition leadership weakens coordination with the central government and slows service delivery.
Translation: “Districts whose lines have been bent, meaning those that elected opposition leaders, see their issues delayed. Responses depend on how aligned leaders are with the government. If you continue voting opposition under multiparty politics, your concerns will keep being delayed. That is why you must vote NRM flag bearers,” Todwong said.
In Nwoya East County, Lilly Adong faces stiff competition from incumbent MP Geoffrey Charles Okello of the Democratic Party (DP), Moses Cankara Mwaka (FDC), Brian Rwotomiyo of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), as well as independents Patrick Akena Candano and Ojok Nelson Oyet.
Todwong, however, defended his record, saying that during his tenure as MP from 2011 to 2016, working alongside Adong, they secured tangible gains for the district, including advocacy that led to the creation of Nwoya East Constituency. Adong also credited the NRM with restoring peace and security in the region, arguing that stability has laid the foundation for socio-economic transformation, a reason, she said, voters should return NRM leaders to office.
Meanwhile, in Nwoya County, Tony Awany is facing growing pressure from Denis Geoffrey Opiyo (DP), Samuel Oola, outgoing LCV Chairperson Emmanuel Orach, and independents Alfred Otti Okello, Emmanuel Ocitti Onyai, and Kennedy Okello. For the district Chairperson race, Patrick Okello Oryema will square off against DP’s Wilfred Nyeko.
Todwong urged voters to use the upcoming polls to align leadership from the grassroots to Parliament, arguing that such cohesion would accelerate development and improve government responsiveness in Nwoya District.
The remarks, however, drew a sharp rebuttal from Nwoya East incumbent MP Geoffrey Charles Okello, who dismissed Todwong’s assertions as propaganda. “That is propaganda, and it makes no sense in conventional politics. It only sounds sensible in rural politics where leaders want to keep people ignorant. When they want to cover up failures, they say ‘don’t vote opposition,’” Okello said.
He noted that Nwoya overwhelmingly voted for the NRM in the 2021 elections, yet continues to grapple with economic and service delivery challenges, questioning whether underdevelopment can genuinely be blamed on opposition representation.
Okello described it as shameful for senior government officials to attribute poor service delivery to opposition leaders, insisting that such claims lack substance. Defending his record, he cited his role in pushing for the implementation of compensation mechanisms for victims of wildlife destruction.
“When I went to Parliament, the law already existed, but there were no statutory instruments to operationalise it. I pursued that to the dot. Today, if elephants destroy your crops, you don’t need to go to court. You simply fill a form and get compensated,” he said.
Rosalba Oywa, an opinion leader in Gulu City, urged voters to look beyond party colours and focus on the competence and character of individual candidates. “I don’t care which party they come from. What matters is character, how well they understand our problems and whether they can genuinely advocate for us, not act out of fear or favour,” Oywa said. She criticised the tendency to vote strictly along party lines, arguing that several NRM legislators elected in the past had performed worse than opposition MPs.
For the Nwoya District Woman MP seat, Christine Awany faces stiff competition from DP’s Rosemary Laker, UPC’s Joyce Apilli and Joyce Cinderella Acellam, Jennifer Atim Ogaba of DF, and independents Achan Judith Peace and Laker Vicky Tina.
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