Lira Municipality: Akena to work harder to retain seat

Lira

Although Jimmy Akena, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Lira Municipality, was a shoo-in for his second term as Member of Parliament for Lira Municipality, in 2016 he may have to work harder to retain his seat.

Mr Akena, one of the sons of former president, Apollo Milton Obote, suffers a particular handicap which is, this time, being played up by his likely competitors - when addressing a public rally he has to communicate through a translator because he is not fluent in Luo.

The MP spent a considerable number of years of his adult life in exile abroad with his father and consequently may have lost the opportunity to practice Langi.
But in the 2011 general elections, UPC’s Akena still ran off with the ballot nonetheless, beating his closest opponent from the ruling NRM party, Mr Francis Okello Orech, with an 18,778-vote lead against 4,566 votes.

Five years earlier in 2006, Mr Akena won by 13,406 votes, beating the incumbent by then, former UPC strong lady Cecilia Atim Ogwal, who only managed 2,501, and Sam Engola of the NRM, who got 5,610 votes.

According to many observers, the two-time wins for Mr Akena are largely attributed to the love the people of Lango had for Dr Obote. But his father’s political party, the UPC is, today, deeply divided and this could yet prove to be a point of contention when the polls come by.

Mildly-spoken, Mr Akena has a modest personal profile. He holds General Certificate of Education from the University of London and has worked as a country manager for Agromed Ltd both in Kenya and Zambia before joining politics in 2005 after his father passed on.

Some locals worry that he has not done much for the bustling Lira Municipality where Ms Ogwal, according to them, did better at representing them.
They say he has also failed to use the position to cultivate a following locally, nationally and abroad. But the man himself is ready to confound his critics, observing that he has been there for his people.

For, instance, he told Saturday Monitor, a number of boda-boda riders owe their ownership of motorcycles to him since he helped them get loans from financial institutions. He also points out the Bolicup small savings group that he has supported to help women in business.

This is a constituency better known for the raucous contests between Mr Engola and Ms Ogwal. However, in two years’ time, we could have three candidates challenging the former president’s son. Mr Ishaa Otto Amiza (UPC), a former MP for Oyam South in the 8th Parliament, is up for the job.

After he lost in 2011, Mr Otto relocated from his ancestral home in Loro Sub-county, Oyam District to his urban home in Lira Municipality. For the time he has spent in Lira, he has been engaging in activism on the rights of the people, good governance and democracy.

A former guild president at Kyambogo University, Mr Otto appears to be quite alive to the local sensitivities where the Obote name is concerned.
He says it would be wrong for someone to say he is running against Mr Akena.
He says that Lira municipality does not have an MP but somebody who was voted in to occupy the seat.

“My Luo is fluent making me to mix with people of all age groups,” he says.
As a procurement officer by profession, and also a diploma holder in water engineering with vast experience in engineering works, Mr Otto says he is better placed to speak for the people if elected.

Mr Otto will, among others, be remembered for having actively participated in the campaign to terminate the contract of distributor, Umeme, which MPs resolved was skewed in favour of the power distributor. He led the first, rather well-attended demonstration against the company in Lira.

The campaign sparked off similar demonstration in the districts of Mbarara, Mbale, Kampala and Kasese. Then there is Mr Francis Okello Orech (NRM) who was defeated in 2011. He will, however, first have to face off with Mr Francis Opio Okello in the ruling party primaries.

Mr Okello Orech, says Lira municipality has not benefited much from the leadership of Mr Akena. “In case I am voted into office, I will ensure that women, get soft loans to boost their business, since many are widows and single mothers. There are many business persons in Lira who need connections and advice on what kind of business to venture in,” he says.

“It should have been the role of the MP to link up with embassies to have these business people exposed to countries like China and Dubai where business has taken off. Many people have lost business due to lack of exposure while others have lost it to the middle men,” Mr Orech says.

This municipality, unlike others around the country, is a hotbed of commercial activity and harbours a very large business community. It is also the halfway point for traders looking for opportunities in the greater northern Uganda and onwards to South Sudan. It is, therefore, easy to see where the interest in promoting commerce comes from.

Mr Opio Okello, 37, has hands-on experience in the rough and tumble of Lira business world. He is in transport, runs a hotel, buses and is also involved with construction.

With his Masters degree in Leadership and Human relations, the relatively young politician is confident he would use his knowledge to help colleagues in trade.

The 2016 election will give him another chance to get a foot into the House, having failed at the first attempt when he lost the northern youth MP contest in 2006 to Mr Hamson Obua. At the end of the day, the unflappable Mr Akena remains determined to have the last word.

For now though, he says it is too early for him to comment on the matter. “Those who have showed interest to contest come 2016, are the ones who cannot see what I have done,” he told Saturday Monitor.

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