AMURU REFERENDUM
Amuru
has just concluded electing a replacement to Hon. Betty Oyella Bigombe who was
seconded to World Bank as Senior Director for Fragility, Conflicts and
Violence. Whatever that position entails, Hon. Bigombe secured a respectful
position than her pitiful position as Minister of State for Water, considering
her seniority in NRMO.
This
time, Amuru people switched their position from NRM to Opposition FDC, which
could also mean that the 2011 vote was for Ms Bigombe, rather than NRMO’s.
The
outcome of the by-elections should not be taken lightly going to 2016.
Amuru is
one of the areas in Acholi that got battered terribly by the two decades of
insurgency. Our memories are still fresh with the Atiak Massacre of April 20th,
1995 in which over 300 lives. Later, the then Vice President Specioza Kazibwe, while
visiting the scenes of the massacre, was quoted in the media to have said that
the people of Atiak were killed to make manure. With such a dark spot in its history,
it was surprising that the NRM candidate, Ms Akilli Amongi could even win at
Atiak!
Atiak
is relatively an urbanized centre, itself having been a home to one of the
largest internment camps where life conditions were described as squalid and
unbearable. The hopelessness and powerlessness that shaped the perceptions of
the people there could have endeared them to the ruling Party for material
gains. Further, it appears that most of the voters in Atiak are alienated from
the harshness of rural life characterized by land grabs by soldiers, family
conflicts, and forceful eviction for Madhvani plantations.
The
other implication is that, the anticipated fortune of the NRM in this region is
imaginary. There has been this false perception that NRM has made inroads in
Northern Uganda. It appears that these areas tend to vote for individual
quality rather than the Party. The regime minders front the various post
conflict reconstruction programs such as PRDP, NUSAF, restocking, etc, as a
reward or a favor, rather than a right, for the neglected region.
For the
locals on the ground, these programs have translated into fringe benefits for
them. The proceeds from these services are evidently benefiting few regime cronies.
Take for instance, the unequal distribution of war compensations, including
selective cattle restocking, moreover with malnourished breed of animals. These
services have compounded the misery of the people and driven them into ambiguity
about post conflict development. Given
the fusion of the State with the incumbent political party, people are having
difficulties discerning government programs from NRMO’s, and are apathetic to
them altogether.
Amuru
has been on the political spotlight over a long period of time. From the days
of Divinity Union in the 90s to the recent open discovery of potent oil wells, the
regime and its elements had eyed Amuru for grabs and they are still fixated on
that trophy. Amuru has rich, fertile land, endowed with vast minerals and large
rural population.
The land is what beholds the populace. It is these attributes
that the regime so wishes to usurp from the people, to dole out to sham
investors whose agenda is to enslave the people of Amuru on their own lands.
This by-election therefore was sort of a referendum, to tell Mr. Museveni that
the people of Amuru meant business, and that, they value their land above all pettiness
of politics.
One
of the biggest implications of this by-election is the way it united the
Opposition. Ugandans love to see UPC, DP, FDC, etc, working together as they
did in Amuru and Luwero. When united, they can deter NRM from blatantly stuffing
ballots and multiple voting by aliens to rig elections. Many commentators praised
that harmony of interparty coalition in Amuru, claiming that it illustrated a degree
of maturity which Ugandans expect, to be able to trust the Opposition with
power. While the NRM leaks its wounds, the big questions going forward is; what
political fortune awaits a divided opposition in 2016?
END
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