Breaking virgin land in Lira District

This week, Dennis Ogeng and Paul Amoru look at Lira District Woman MP race, where for the first time, it will not have an incumbent after Ms Rebecca Otengo decided to contest in the newly-formed Alebtong District.

Constituency to watch: Lira District, Woman Current MP: Rebecca Amuge Otengo Main contenders: Margaret Ateng Otim, Hilda Akidi, Joy Ongom (UPC) Joan Pacuto (NRM)

The momentum is building in Lira as the 2011 election draws closer – at least for the politicians. However, speaking to the ordinary person, one can discern voter apathy and loss of confidence in the ability of politicians.

Ms Joyce Akello, 32, is a rural woman from Abako Sub-county in the new district of Alebtong which was recently carved out of Lira. She is a strong believer in her own vision and individual strength.

“I have lost trust in government or any politician. I only trust God for anything good to happen in my life. My vote will do nothing to change the status quo,” says Ms Akello.

Similarly, Ms Mary Atim, a resident of Lira Municipality, dismisses elections and democracy in Uganda as an abstract notion that has little bearing on the hard life led by the rural woman in Uganda.

“Personally, I do not make good understanding of the role of a Woman MP. To me what matters is if I have food for my children and they can go to school,” she stresses.

The above expressions bring forth a rather confused interpretation of the roles of a woman Member of Parliament in the development process.
Granted, apart from the middle class-urban women who make up a thin percentage, a majority of women here are desperately struggling to improve the well-being of their families.

The stark reality is that many women in Lira are still grappling with the after effects of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency, abject poverty and several forms of violence and abuse. This ranges from early marriages, wife neglect to battering and denying them opportunity to own property.

Thousands are infected with HIV by their promiscuous husbands. “This is what concerns me, not politics,” adds Ms Atim. Against this background, the contest for the Lira Woman MP job is not an easy one. Before Alebtong and Otuke were carved out of Lira, the 2002 national census put the total population of Lira District at 757,763 of which 383,789 are female and 373,974 are male.

The incumbent Woman MP, Ms Rebecca Otengo, says she has done her job these past five years despite having to cope with a very challenging environment.
“I have played my part in empowering the women in the district and fostering peaceful co-existence in the post-conflict era,” she notes.
Ms Amuge, formerly an Independent MP, recently shifted her alliance to the ruling NRM party. She said after five years of hard work “I have decided to contest in my home district of Alebtong, which just started operating on July 1”.

The creation of Alebtong from Lira District was endorsed by MPs in December 2009. The development leaves Lira with only three counties of Erute North, Erute South and Lira Municipality. It means, therefore, that the race for the Lira District Woman seat for the first time gets underway without an incumbent.

A number of politicians mainly those subscribing to the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) party have indicated they would want to give it a try. So far, only one plans to vie on the ruling NRM party ticket.
Ms Margaret Ateng Otim, who held the seat before Ms Otengo won it in 2006, returns to the contest bearing a grudge. She unsuccessfully contested the last election result.

“I had asked the court to order a recount of votes due to some irregularities. A case in point was the fact that up to 8,000 votes were declared invalid,” Ms Ateng said this week in an interview.
Ms Ateng, who is currently the UPC women council coordinator, accepted the court verdict and bade her time.

“Going by the groundwork, I am convinced I will be re-elected,” she announced. She will, however, have to contend with Ms Joy Ongom, a district councillor. Ms Ongom is not impressed by the calibre of representation for women in the outgoing Parliament – something she intends to do something about.

“I am aiming at transformational leadership where there is value in leadership,” she says without saying exactly how she intends to achieve that end.

Asked for her view about the role of a Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Ateng Otim said: “Women MPs do not necessarily represent the women. They represent everybody in the constituency. It is misleading to think otherwise.”

Heavy stuff but which nonetheless did not immediately form the reason as to why Ms Hilda Akidi, a youthful contestant, is running. For her, the major concern is the standard of education in the region noting that education and skills development is an important yardstick for measuring human progress.

“Poverty has left its footprint on the women and it has got a spill-over effect on entire households,” she observes. As a strong believer in party politics she will have to pass through the nerve-wracking primaries along with Ms Ateng Otim and Joy Ongom to win the UPC ticket.

That inevitably turns the pressure on party officials to adhere to democratic principles in order to win the confidence of its members.
“I am appealing to my party (UPC) to be democratic enough so as not to deprive women who are potential leaders,” warns Ms Ongom.

Notwithstanding the cross cutting matters, the contestants cannot keep off the several problems affecting women. Data available indicates that wife neglect and beating, denial of property rights and rape are the leading forms of gender-based violence in the district. Partly as a consequence of thi,s street children, prostitution, divorce, poverty and high school drop-out rates have gone up in Lira.

These are matters which the UPC candidates will be talking up come the primaries. Whoever emerges winner shall expect a stiff fight from the NRM’s Joan Pacuto.