Mulanda: Tororo’s sub-county that has produced govt bigwigs

The sub-county has since given birth to three sub-counties including Mwelo, Siwa, and Nabuyoga, and two town councils of Pajwemda and Nabuyoga. 
Among the prominent people in this ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government from Mulanda are the current Minister of Defence, Mr Jacob Oboth-Oboth, Mr Ofwono Opondo, the government spokesperson, and Ms Phibby Otaala, the former Uganda High Commissioner to Kenya. 

Others include former Inspector General of Police, Martin Okoth-Ochola, the late James Ochola, who was a minister of Regional Affairs, and the late Charles Oboth Ofumbi, who was a minister of Defence under Milton Obote government and also during the reign of Idi Amin in 1971. 

Ofumbi also acted as president for nine days while then-president Amin was away on a State visit between July 9 and 18, 1972.
Mr Jimmy Orukan, one of the elders, said the people of Mulanda took their children to school earlier enough, something he said has given them an upper hand at the local and national level. 
“Like anybody will tell you, people of Mulanda embraced education and this has enabled them to acquire academic qualifications that have merited them for any job opportunities,’’ he said. 
He disclosed that the first appointment the people of Mulanda celebrated was Oboth Ofumbi.  
But in Mulanda, like any other rural area, few people have access to running water or to electricity despite being a home to prominent people.

Livelihood
Most of the locals practice subsistence farming and live in moderate houses apart from a few who have permanent houses and own big chunks of land.
Mr John Owori Otonya, the former LC3 chairperson of Pajwenda Town Council, said the people of Mulanda have sailed through because they don’t despise jobs nor fear risks. 
“Coupled with education, I can proudly say the people of Mulanda dare to go out and search for jobs,’’ he said. 
Mr Owori added that their natives are naturally brilliant and hardworking, something that has seen many prominet figures get rewarded. 

Other elders say Mulanda is blessed historically. They say its soils are more fertile and that crops flourish more than any other area in Tororo District.
Mr Otongo Opendi Yolam, 72, said they used to grow cotton, a cash crop that helped them to educate their children.  “True, we are blessed but we are also hardworking. We grew cotton which fetched us money to pay fees for our children in powerful schools and our children didn’t disappoint us,’’ he said. 

Plea for recognision
Mr Moses Odela, one of the residents, said the government should tarmac Tororo-Mulanda road in recognition of their service. 
“Like other regions, apart from giving out medals, it would be prudent if such an infrastructure is tarmacked to recognise the contributions of our children, especially in this government,” he said. 

Recently, the Paramount cultural chief of the Jopadhola, Moses Kwar Stephen Owor, who presided over the thanksgiving ceremony for Mr Oboth-Oboth, after his appointment, appealed to the government to elevate Mulanda Health Centre IV to a hospital status.
“We thank the head of State for considering our son in that position and we appeal that the government consider elevating Mulanda Health Centre IV to spur service delivery,” he said. 

He added that insecurity that had been rampant in Mulanda has since been addressed with the establishment of a full-fledged police station. 
Tororo chairperson John Okeya said Mulanda’s prominence did not come on a silver plate.  
“Generally,  people of Mulanda are hardworking and it’s hard for a Mulanda person to accept defeat,  even in local arguments,” he said. 

More prominent faces

   Other prominent people include Emmanuel Osuna, who served as the chairperson for Tororo District from 2006-2011 and 2011-2016 and Mr Patrick Onyango, who is the police spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan Area and Ms Grace Oburu, who was the former Tororo District Woman Member of Parliament from 2001 to 2006.