By KT Reporter
Mobilization is in high gear in Amuru District as preparations intensify to receive President Yoweri Museveni, who is set to launch his 2026 general election campaigns in the Acholi Sub-region on October 20. The President’s maiden campaign will start in Pabbo Town Council in Amuru district, an area in the Sub-region long regarded as an opposition stronghold.
Since being carved from Gulu District in 2006, Amuru District has remained a stronghold of the opposition, with key political seats, including the District LCV Chairperson, District Woman Member of Parliament, Kilak North and Kilak South, being dominated by the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
However, the recent defection of two prominent FDC party members, Michael Lakony, the district LCV Chairperson, and Anthony Akol, the Kilak North Legislator, to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party marked a political turning point and a major boost for the party ahead of Museveni’s visit.
Now, as the President who is seeking the 7th term in office heads to Amuru, local leaders have drawn up a list of unfilled presidential pledges and pressing development concerns they hope the head of state will address during his visit. Speaking to Uganda Radio Network in an interview, Michael Lakony, the district LCV Chairperson, a once outspoken critic of President Museveni, outlined at least six key priorities the president should consider as he visits the district.
Lakony, who is eyeing the Kilak South Parliamentary seat, said the district’s immediate needs include, among others, the elevation of Atiak Health Center IV into a district hospital, Pabbo Health Center III into a Health Center IV. Others are the creation of more parishes to improve access to government services, and the establishment of Health Centers, primary and secondary schools in underserved Sub-counties such as Lakang Sub-county.
He also noted that there is a need for the president to fulfill pledges on the establishment of Pupwonya Girls Secondary school in Atiak Secondary, provision of busses for Pabbo Secondary school and Atiak Technical Institute and the long awaited construction of Guru Guru Technical Institute in memory of the 1911 Lamogi rebellion.
Lakony however emphasized an urgent need by the President to resolve the conflict over Apaa Land demarcated as part of Adjumani district by the government in 2017 through granting the area an autonomous district status. Apaa Township, measuring an estimated 817 square Kilometers, has been at the heart of a long-standing conflict between Amuru district, who claim it as part of Pabbo Sub-county, and Adjumani district, which claims it as part of Itrikwa Sub-county. Government agencies like the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the National Forestry Authority (NFA) also claim parts of the land as protected areas under the East Madi Wildlife Reserve and Zoka Central Forest Reserve, respectively.
Lakony, however, acknowledged that while he and other defectors are committed to mobilizing for the NRM, their political credibility among constituents will depend heavily on the government’s ability to fulfill its promises. He said NRM as a political party and President Museveni have a debt that needs to be settled for the people of Amuru district, adding that as a new member of the party, it’s a test of time for him to witness.
Kilak North Legislator Anthony Akol reiterated that some of the President’s unfulfilled pledges in the district include 200 million shillings meant for the construction of a dormitory block at Atiak Technical Institute. He noted that the president had also pledged help in bringing back home exiled Akena P’ojok, a former Minister in President Apollo Milton Obote’s government who is currently living in the United Kingdom.
The Stakes for President Museveni
Political Observers, however, say the president’s decision to start his campaign in Amuru is both symbolic and strategic to serve as a test of the NRM’s growing influence in a region where opposition parties have traditionally held control. Arthur Owor, the Director of the Center for Africa Research in Gulu City, said Monday that the President’s choice of Amuru district as his campaign starting point is a calculated attempt to align political leaders’ defection with voter sentiment on the ground.
Owor noted that while it’s possible that the leaders could have moved on from the opposition to the NRM party, the voters might still be left behind, a reason he says the President has put emphasis on ensuring the voters too move towards supporting the NRM party.
Owor said the NRM’s increasing dominance in the Acholi Sub-region is partly due to unfavorable political conditions that don’t favor the opposition, unlike the NRM party and the development narrative the ruling party continues to champion. According to Owor, achievements like infrastructure progress, the Parish Development Model (PDM), and post-conflict recovery programs have given the ruling party milestones despite not successfully meeting targets.
Lucy Akello, the incumbent Amuru District Woman Legislator holding the FDC flag, noted that the disorganization among the opposition members could likely affect their strength and give the NRM party a chance to win with a big margin. Akello is, however, optimistic that while the NRM party may be gaining influence, voters are currently shunning party ideology in the district and instead going for leaders who have made an impact and represent their voices but not those of political parties.
She pointed out that the President should, for the last time, address the problems leaders in the district have raised on the incursion of the migrant cattle keepers commonly referred to as Balaalo. In July this year, President Museveni issued Executive Order No. 2 for the eviction of all migrant cattle keepers from North and North-Eastern Uganda. Amuru district, one of the districts with the largest numbers of the migrant cattle keepers from June 23rd to October 05th this year, has so far evicted 13,480 herds of cattle belonging to migrant cattle keepers from Central Uganda and over 5,000 herds of cattle from South Sudanese nomadic pastoralists, according to the Resident District Commissioner Godfrey Osborn Oceng. In the neighboring Nwoya district, a total of 1,824 herds of cattle.
FDC is still strong in Amuru
Incumbent Kilak South Legislator Gilbert Olanya, a staunch FDC party member, however, maintained that despite the defection of the two party members, the party remains strong and poised to win majority positions in the district. Olanya noted that the party has fronted their members in all the elective positions in the district, starting from the Local council positions to the Member of Parliament.
New members for the top elective positions include Denis Rom, the vice Chairperson of Amuru District, who is contesting for the District LCV Chairperson seat, and Aggrey Akera, the Secretary for Education and Health, who is contesting the Kilak North Constituency against Akol. While Wilfred Odiya Baguma, the NRM Chairperson for Amuru district, denied that the President’s choice of first campaign in Amuru district isn’t influenced by the defection of the opposition politicians, he admitted they will help boost Museveni’s votes in the coming election.
In the last presidential elections, according to results from the Electoral Commission, President Museveni garnered 18,742 votes (53.52 percent), defeating his closest rival, Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi, the National Unity Platform (NUP) president, who secured 7,466 votes (21.32 percent), followed by Patrick Amuriat Oboi, the FDC presidential candidate, who garnered 3,825 votes.
However, in the past elections between 2011 and 2016, Museveni suffered defeats in Amuru district at the hands of opposition presidential candidates, notably former FDC party president Rtd Col Dr Kizza Besigye and Democratic Party (DP) party president Norbert Mao. For instance, in the 2016 elections, Dr Beisgye garnered 17,275 votes (51.01 percent) while President Museveni secured 10,673 votes (31.52 percent).
In 2011, Mao defeated President Museveni in Amuru, garnering 12,562 votes (44.1 percent). President Museveni garnered 10,470 votes (36.75 percent), followed by Dr Besigye, who came third with 3,310 votes (11.62 percent). Other issues the district leaders have highlighted for the President to tackle as he makes his visit next week include the urgent need to rehabilitate the existing major roads that are currently dilapidated, citing the Gulu-Nimule highway and the Pogo-Adjumani and the Atiak Kitgum roads among others. They have also highlighted the concerns over the delayed payments of the war debt claimants in the district and the wider Acholi Sub-region.
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