By Grace Matsiko & Tabu Butagira
June 2 - 9, 2004
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KOBOKO: As the silver grey casket containing the body of former Attorney General, Francis Ayume descended into its six-feet final resting place at the border village of Amadunga in Koboko, Arua under the scorching afternoon sun last Sunday, the reality raised its head as to who could be his replacement in parliament and government. Until the West Nile region (where Ayume’s constituency of Koboko is) comes out of the debilitating mourning season, no one is willing to openly declare intentions to vie for the vacant seat. Such declaration would amount to abomination, especially when people are still mourning.
However, these reporters established that Col. Taban Amin, son of former Head of State, General Idi Amin Dada is a choice among residents to step in Ayume’s shoes. Taban sat together with Ayume’s family in the tent next to that of President Yoweri Museveni during the burial and his towering physical girth made him a centre of attraction. Taban who draws on the prominence of his late father is hailed and revered in West Nile region for abdicating armed struggle against the incumbent NRM government. His return to Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he had been holed up with his rag tag fighters was much relief to the West-Nilers, whose sons have been fighting the government from several foreign capitals. His popularity was indeed evident as hundreds of villagers scrambled to board the pickup truck he drove in as he tried to shake his father-like big fists. But some residents, especially the elderly Muslim community leaders are against the former first son stepping into politics saying that he had already secured a juicy job with the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) as a counter-terror link-pin. “Why should he join politics?” one elderly Muslim leader asked. “He has a good job. What else does he want? By going to parliament, he would be blocking other locals a chance to get to high government offices and yet we need more people there”, the leader argued pleading with The Monitor not to name him because he is a retired military officer who did not want to get involved in “political talk”. He teaches at Maracha secondary school following his recent transfer from St. Charles Lwanga Koboko S.S. Political pundits have attributed the former Attorney General’s victory to Parliament where he was elected as a speaker in 1998 to Todoko. He also takes accolades for the development programmes initiated by late Ayume in the constituency. Though little known outside his home-township of Arua, Todoko is respected for his immense organisational skills and has cut a niche on the local political scene. During Ayume’s burial, Mr. Todoko served as chairman of the indigenous funeral organising committee and translator for President Museveni. He surely is a force to reckon with, in the event that he chooses to run as speculated. But The Monitor has also learnt that another influential group of local elders are fronting Pader Resident District Commissioner, Ahmed Awongo to occupy the seat. Their conviction, like many other people who know him (Awongo), is that he is President Museveni’s confidant and movement strongman just like the fallen AG. Indeed, some leaders said that he should be fielded unopposed in the forthcoming bye-elections. The Number one’s trust in Awongo is perhaps manifested in his long time retention as RDC having served in Arua, Moyo, Adjumani and lately the rebel-infested Pader district in Acholi land. He has survived several reshuffles, in which his contemporaries have since fallen from grace and been rolled into oblivion. Talking of presidential aides stepping in, one cannot rule out former deputy RDC of Arua, Haruna Ssebi who represented Koboko in the Constituent Assembly during the mid 1990s. He was dropped during last year’s shuffles. Virtually jobless now, save for being a district land board member for Arua, the next destination in the political life of Ssebi could be the August House. “What about Emmy Asiku?” One of the local political analysts asked us. “Though he tried unsuccessfully to unseat Ayume during the 2001 seat, the shrewd auditor with ministry of finance has a solid support at home”, he said. “To have come out to challenge the calibre of politician like the late for the parliamentary seat, is seen as a sign of brevity”, our source familiar with the politics of the area said. On the national scene, the West Nilers have lost another pillar linking them to government and specifically to State House. In fact, district councillors openly wept during a solemn session to pay tribute to the fallen AG on May 20, saying with his demise, their “eyes had been plucked out” and the region substantially rolled out of government. With Lt. Gen. Moses Ali, the First Deputy Premier and minister for disaster preparedness set to retire and Ayume gone, West Nile will be like an orphaned child. The agony of missing Ayume will more than real assume a monstrous proportion in their relations with government. The situation can be saved with the fast-rising Gender minister Zoe Bakoko Bakoru being rapidly pushed up the political ladder. Though Okumu Ringa, Agard Didi and Andruale Awuzu, junior minister for public service, Entandikwa and transport respectively hail from this region, they have no serious political clout to talk of. Worse still, their movement-leaning popularity is heading down the valley as Ugandans prepare themselves for a possible transition to vibrant multi-party politics and the country searches for youthful leaders to take on more sensitive responsibilities in government. |
© 2004 The Monitor Publications
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