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BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU
ARUA: SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2025
From Peace Onguaru’s home near Wandi church of Uganda in Wandi Ward in Oluko, Ayivu East Constituency, Riki health Center III is about 10km away, Orivu health center IV is about 6km away and so, the residents go to Arua hospital which is ever choking under congestion and long queues from patients.
Onguaru, 31, recalls an incident in which she was turned away from Orivu health center when she went there for antenatal care in 2021.
Yet their church, Wandi church of Uganda has large chunk of land that she thinks could be used for establishing a health center.
Also the residents in this area are reeling from a bitter land conflict with their neighbours from Ocoko in Vurra constituency that resulted into the murder of one person.
“When we asked the incumbent MP Geoffrey Feta during his consultative meeting, he blamed the MP for Vurra County, Yovan Adriko for the conflict,” Onguaru said.
“But all what we want is for the leaders to resolve that conflict so that people can access their gardens,” she said.
Onguaru, a holder of diploma in agriculture who rears rabbits, pigs, chicken and grows crops for her livelihood also decries the high level of poverty among the youths who prefer spending more time in disco halls and loiter by the roadside due to lack of gainful occupation.
To these concerns, retired catechist Biajo Alindubo added the low level of education, poor roads and lack of electricity and water and said the residents of this area were looking for a leader who can pull their hands and moved them out of this situation.
They made the revelations in an interview in West Nile News just before the joint campaign rally by the candidates for the National Resistance movement flag bearer at Wandi church of Uganda.
However, when the candidates took to the podium, it was all intrigue, emotional overflows and attacks to degrade opponents.
First to speak was Musa Anguyo, a former LC3 chairman of Oli Division who after promising to help the people to resolve the Wandi-Ocoko land conflict proceeded to deride the government programs of Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOS) and the Parish Development Model (PDM), two flagship poverty alleviation programs of President Yoweri Museveni’s Government.
“I will mobilise the people to move out of poverty. For many years the government has been giving us money through SACCOS and PDM but there is no change,” he said to the shock of many.
Anguyo said what is keeping people in perpetual poverty is the high expectation of handouts from the government. “Let us grow food in our homes,” he added.
However, the campaigns turned euphoric when Eng William Tiyo Odaa got on the stage as memories of his firebrand grandfather, the late Gaspero Ombadro Odaa, a member of Uganda’s independence parliament came to the fore.
After explaining the functions of a member of parliament- to represent, legislate, allocate budget and do oversight, Eng Tiyo added that he will vigorously undertake social responsibility to support the people.
“As MP I can support you through your village savings groups to ensure that the money you save annually is spent for school fee rather than meat and clothes for Christmas,” he said.
He added that once elected, he will come back to the people to ask them specific life transforming projects with which he should support them so that they can own the projects.
This declaration attracted misrepresentation and ridicule from the other contestants who sought to cast Eng Tiyo as a candidate lacking a plan for the people.
But the rally turned into a nervously emotional affair when the remaining candidates, former Gender, Labour and Social Development Minister, Zoe Bakoko Bakoru and incumbent Geoffrey Feta took their turn.
Bakoko who has returned from a 20-year self-imposed exile in the United States of America reminded the people of her participation in the peace process that ended the hostilities between the government and the defunct Uganda National Rescue Front II rebels when she was Arua district Woman MP from 1996 to 2001.
She also urged the people to recall that during her time as MP for Ayivu County from 2001 to 2006, there used to be an annual Ayivu Day but she was overwhelmed by emotions to explain her long absence from the country.
This prompted a hilarious question from a rally attendant who wondered whether the ageing former minister had got married in the USA. “Do you want a goat for my dowry? She said in angry repost.
“People say Bakoko is a thief, where in Uganda can a thief move with armed bodyguard? She added.
Bakoko fled the country after warrant of arrest was issued against her for abuse of office and causing Sh8 billion financial loss in the National Social Security Fund through a fraudulent housing estate project where according to the report by former Inspector General of Government, Raphael Baku, she received the agreement for a joint venture in the morning and approved it in the afternoon without cabinet approval.
At the time of her flight Bakoko alleged a witch-hunt by bigwigs in the government including Gen Salim Saleh whom she claimed were going after her because she thwarted an attempt by them to swindle the sh8b from NSSF.
After both sides swallowing their bitter pills, President Museveni pardoned Bakoko in 2011 and encouraged her to return home, but she continued to hang in the USA, working as a columnist in a local newspaper before deciding to finally come home last year.
Responding to Bakoko’s denial of wrong doing, Feta spoke in idioms. “If you paint a monkey in colour, it will not change the nature of the monkey,” he said.
