By Mulengera Reporters
It’s official that the UPC first lady Betty Amongi, also a minister in Museveni’s cabinet, is running away from her people after being Oyam South MP for 25 years. She controversially wants to become Lira City woman MP by ousting fellow minister Jane Ruth Aceng who has held the post for just 4 years from 2021.
Otafiire says this is madness, admits that Aceng has achieved a lot in just 4 years putting to shame colleagues who have been MPs for more than 30 years and wants Amongi to show her record as Oyam MP for 25 years and proceed to explain what she is exactly running away from.
Speaking Saturday evening at Lira town college playground, where Aceng was installed as the patron of LUMBA which unites boda riders in Lango replacing Amongi’s husband Jimmy Akena, Otafiire likened Amongi to a little drop of paraffin which can spoil a drum of meat and cautioned Lira City voters not to let down Uganda by letting go of high-performing Aceng, while replacing her with a non-performer like Betty Amongi.
Santa Alum of UPC who is also Oyam woman MP, speaking earlier, had told the same gathering to listen more to people like herself who know enough about Betty Amongi’s lukewarm performance. Otafiire likened Amongi to someone, a guest, who shows greed and ungratefulness by very quickly eating his or her share of the cake inside a rich man’s dining room and proceeds to demand for what has been allocated to the children of the home.
Implying that Amongi, who was made minister in NRM government without being required to leave her UPC, is being ungrateful, Otafiire asserted that “you can’t come to our clan and begin causing problems for us.”
He stressed that: “You come to our place and we give you our cake. You eat it very quickly and you now want our share too. That’s being unfair and it’s unacceptable,” the NRM CEC member and bush war hero said as the large crowd of several thousands ululated. “She was there in her UPC busy starving. We called her to give her a piece of the cake to eat and now you say you want this one of ours too. No! No!”
Upon reflecting on the long list of Aceng’s achievements which had been listed by earlier speakers like religious and cultural leaders, Gen Otafiire asserted that its performers like Aceng who qualify to be reelected as non-performers like Betty Amongi run away from their people after 25 years of lukewarm performance.
“You people of Lango, you have always had MPs here and they were always UPC. Why didn’t they do even a fraction of what Jane has done in just 4 years? You people of Lango how can anyone claim to be a good doctor and at the same time pay people to come to your clinic? If you are genuine about bringing for us services, why are you paying us money? You people of Lango be careful with a doctor who pays you money to come to his clinic. That one must be a witchdoctor and not a good one. You had better be careful,” counseled Otafiire.
He had started his speech by clarifying from the start that, as a CEC member, he had a duty to de-campaign Amongi since she doesn’t belong to his NRM party. He said she is his colleague in cabinet but that doesn’t stop him from criticising her under performance, which is why she is running away from Oyam, since she is UPC and not NRM.
Otafiire, who clearly seemed to doubt Amongi’s leadership credentials and ability to properly represent Lira City while meeting the high standards Aceng has set, said that his hands would have been tied if Amongi was NRM too.
Now that she isn’t of NRM, he clarified, there is no way he can afford being neutral between wrong and right and between good and poor performance. Saying that the people of Lira City are lucky to have such a leader who selflessly cares about them, Otafiire said that as someone who has been MP for over 20 years, he feels intimidated when he looks at what Aceng has done for her people in just 4 years.
He implored the people of Lira to like themselves more by reelecting Aceng whose first 4 years have been synonymous with improved roads, water and health facilities for Lira City dwellers. He made reference to the relationship a Munyankole always has with his cattle; namely milk. He said a cow has to be treasured for as long as it produces milk but the day that ceases, it’s sent to the slaughter house. “You people of Lango why would you let Jane go when she is still yielding milk? Please don’t.”
He then directly addressed Betty Amongi. “My sister Betty Amongi of UPC you have your constituency in Oyam. If you are doing well, why are you running away? What are you running away from? Don’t bring your failures to the city. Go back and show the people of Oyam what you did for them. I want to know which devil is that chasing her from her constituency. Can you say you are saving Lira City when you have failed in Oyam? Show us your record and we compare it with that of Jane who, in her first term, has performed beyond expectation. Just see what she has done in just 4 years,” said Otafiire who kept rubbing in kiswahil words.
Saying she is among the most brilliant ministers in Museveni’s cabinet, Otafiire said that Aceng is a shining star not just by the standards of Lango sub region but the whole country because even the President knows that she is one the best ministers. Otafiire admitted to being among the many ministers who respect Aceng to the extent of often altering their own view and position on many governance issues upon listening to the Aceng view.
He sarcastically said that Aceng is accepted as very persuasive by many colleagues in cabinet “unlike people like myself who sometimes have conservative and outdated ideas.” Otafiire was reluctant saying the same about Betty Amongi.
Gen Otafiire said that, at 74 years, he is convinced he is in the departure lounge of this earthly life and expects to die and go to meet his creator anytime from now. “I’m going to wake up dead one morning whether I like it or not. But I’m comforted when I look at younger leaders in the Movement like Dr. Aceng because I know the day I drop the button somebody of the Aceng calibre will pick it up and there will be continuity. I will rest in peace looking back at the calibre of people we are going to leave in charge.”
He also called on the people of Lango and Lira City to reflect on the fact that leaders of the Aceng pedigree are scarce and God doesn’t create them everyday. “These are leaders of rare qualities and they don’t just grow on trees,” he said sending the large crowd in endless ululation.
Gen Otafiire (who was part of the long Aceng convoy of 3kms which started from Apii at the border of Kole district and Lira City) also asserted that from the enthusiasm he saw in the long procession of men and women of all ages smiling, dancing and ululating, he was convinced that the people of Lango spontaneously love their daughter Jane Ruth Aceng.
“I have no doubt that victory is going to be hers come 2026 but let’s not be complacent. Continue the hard work and repeat what you did in 2021 when you gave her a resounding victory. Let’s vote for Jane Aceng and President Museveni too,” said Otafiire, who trekked more than 300kms to come and be there for fellow Minister Aceng.
As he made this victory prediction, an old woman from the audience shouted “yes she is our beloved daughter and her win will be secured by 10am on the voting day.” Some elderly women in the audience ululated and implored Otafiire, as he spoke, to consider becoming a registered voter in Lira City so that he joins them in voting back Jane Ruth Aceng.
Otafiire, jocular as always, sarcastically responded with: “No that’s your work as the people of Lango and I know you can’t vote against yourselves because the services Dr. Jane has delivered have benefited all of you regardless of party or religion.”
Speaking to an audience that had the Prime Minister of Lango Cultural Institution, religious leaders, fellow Minister Peter Ogwang and MPs like Otuke’s Susan Abeja, Kwania’s Tony Ayo, Oyam woman MP Santa Alum and others, Otafiire also implored the thousands of boda riders assembled to stop their recklessness of not wearing helmets and other protective gear.
Unbothered about angering Betty Amongi, whose selfishness and provocation of abandoning Oyam after eating for 25 years has angered many leaders in government, Peter Ogwang too was full of praises for Jane Ruth Aceng while thanking the people of Lira City for voting wisely. He called on them to consolidate that Aceng-spearheaded transformation of their City by reelecting her back come 2026. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
