By Our Reporters
According to the roadmap newly released by the EC, the newly created Apac Municipality is one of the many electoral areas whose residents will be electing pioneer MPs in July. And Bishop Eddie Engena Maitum, one of the sons to late ex-President Milton Obote, is among those eyeing the seat. In a recorded audio message he sent to this news website, Engena unambiguously declares his ambition to become the pioneer MP for Apac Municipality which covers Akokoro where Obote was famously buried. In the audio, Engena explains that his leadership is the type Lango sub region and the country has been waiting for. He anticipates linking up with like-minded legislators and effect changes in the way this country’s legislative business is conducted in Kampala. He is clearly joining his brother Jimmy Akena who is the MP for Lira Municipality besides being the UPC President leading one of the factions. Engena says he has a right and duty to join politics to finish what remains his father Obote’s unfinished business for this country. In the audio he doesn’t disclose what this business is. To justify his right to be elected, Engena makes reference to leaders like Uhuru Kenyata and Raila Odinga who are in politics carrying on from where their parents stopped. He argues that his family has been in politics for decades making it the natural thing for him to do as well. It’s difficult to tell what he thinks of President Museveni’s leadership or that of the opposition because he doesn’t pronounce himself on any other leaders but concentrates on his Apac message. “A leopard gives birth to a leopard,” he says in a bid to benefit from his Obote family heritage. He says he is prompted to join politics because there is a voice and sound that he doesn’t hear any more in the Ugandan politics. “I have offered myself because I ‘m recognizing our history and present circumstances as a country,” he says adding that as a Church minister he feels that by joining the national politics at this point in time, he will be answering to some divine calling. He refers to other Biblical men of God who did both ministry and political leadership roles including Kings David, Solomon and Hezekiah. “I’m only now expanding my altar to serve God’s people on a broader political spectrum,” says Engena who also refers to the Biblical Joseph. As if to demonstrate his knowledge of the local Luo dialect, Engena also repeatedly uses Luo phrases in the recording. He says he qualifies to stand in that place because he is sufficiently educated, carries a Uganda passport, the National ID and the voters card though he has always voted in Kampala. He says he will be transferring his name to Apac to be able to vote from there.
WON’T BE EASY;
To understand what awaits Engena and what his candidature means for UPC and the Lango sub region, we spoke to ex-Oyam MP Isha Otto who is one of the opinion leaders resident in Lango sub region. “I don’t see anything good in him and his candidature doesn’t mean anything good for the Langis. The entire family is a disgrace. As Lango sub region, we used to be up there shinning in terms of sending leaders at the national level. That was so even after many years of Museveni’s targeted destruction but today we are the worst when it comes to the quality of leaders at national level. It’s so bad that, even when I’m keen and vigilant, I don’t know some of the MPs from this region because they are mediocres. People get to know MPs if they are active in the house and newspapers and TVs in Kampala report about them but that isn’t the case anymore. This problem was caused by the Akena leadership and the other Obote family members. They grabbed the UPC leadership without any understanding of the politics of Uganda, UPC and Lango sub region. They came with a backward mentality of thinking they are entitled to being leaders because of Obote. But being a son to a businessman doesn’t make you a good one later on in life. Akena has been a disgrace and his brother will be even worse. I don’t expect anything good. They don’t have the correct understanding of the UPC politics, Lango and the whole country. All they do is appeal to the emotions of our people because they are related to Obote,” said Otto who is among the UPC diehards in Lango that are opposed to Akena and the rest of the Obote family political actions. “They came here in the mid-2000s and insisted on leading UPC yet they didn’t understand anything. They made so many mistakes which is the cause of all these political problems Uganda and UPC continue to face. That man the so-called Bishop doesn’t live here; he lives in Nairobi and sometimes in Kampala and can’t claim to know the problems of these people. We are going to have many candidates calling themselves UPC because they are those of us who think the Obote family aren’t genuine UPCs and there will be an alternative UPC candidate.” Otto said in his case, he will be supporting an independent candidate whose views are ideologically similar to his but wasn’t comfortable disclosing that candidate’s identity at this point in time. “Its unfortunate Engena isn’t the best candidate for that place but he might win because our people are illiterate and too conservative in their thinking whenever the name Obote is involved. They aren’t analytical enough to understand these things beyond the name Obote. They see it as rewarding their son Obote for what he did for the country,” Otto said suspecting that whoever is perceived as too independent to kotow in the Obote family’s Pohoo will most likely be rejected by the voters. “And that’s bad because that is how this region has lost the cream leadership. People like myself have been fought and destroyed and what we send to Kampala these days is nothing but mediocrity because independent thinkers like myself can’t endorse the Akena-Museveni alliance. This is why I think this Oboteism is now a virus and a terrible problem for the rise of genuine leaders in Lango.” Otto fears that even the Akena UPC faction members are going to be divided on who to support because there is Lucy Ajok “the former Apac woman MP and the Obote family relative” who too wants the same Apac Municipality seat. She served between 2006 & 2016 when she was floored by Betty Engora, the wife of NRM northern region Chairman Sam Engora. “The way I see it, the Akena group might end up fielding two candidates and there will be a 3rd candidate professing UPC because the Akena group aren’t considered to be genuine UPCs anymore,” predicts Otto who himself intends to oust Akena in Lira Municipality come 2021. He adds that much as it’s a small town with low levels of economic activity, Apac’s elevation to Municipality was long overdue because it’s one of the oldest towns in Uganda though its voting population won’t exceed 10,000 voters. “There are many other much smaller and less significant towns which are Municipalities and I think this one delayed because Museveni felt he needed to punish Obote’s people much more,” concludes Otto who also intends to in future oust the Obote family from the leadership of UPC. “All genuine UPCs know that the Obote family member aren’t genuine and they are ruling UPC because of their alliance with Museveni who imposed Akena on us using the gun.” For comments, call/text/whatsapp us on 0703164755!
