Acire, who didn`t specify the amount of money needed by each person, said that the party chairpersons arrived as early as 7:00 am at the meeting venue but were delayed by Olak who came almost at 6:00 pm. Through Acire the party chairpersons asked Olak for a transport refund noting that they come from distant places and could neither use their monies nor walk back.
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Bosco Odoch Olak adressing the furious NRM chairpersons. Photo by Emmy Daniel Ojara
Hundreds of National
Resistance Movement-NRM party chairpersons in Kitgum district have stormed out
of a meeting over lack of transport refund.
The 357 Sub County, Parish and village chairpersons had assembled at MSGR
Antonio Vigna Secondary School in Kitgum Municipality on Thursday for the
launch of the door to door campaign ahead of the 2021 general elections.
The event was officiated over by Bosco Odoch Olak, the head of NRM Mobilization
for Northern Uganda in collaboration with Kitgum district NRM Chairperson and
representatives from the party headquarters in Kampala.
However, tension
started when James Acire, one of the NRM village chairpersons asked the
officials if they would provide money them transport back to their respective
villages and a token of appreciation for the time spent at the meeting.
Acire, who didn`t specify the amount of money needed by each person, said that
the party chairpersons arrived as early as 7:00 am at the meeting venue but
were delayed by Olak who came almost at 6:00 pm. Through Acire the party
chairpersons asked Olak for a transport refund noting that they come from
distant places and could neither use their monies nor walk back.
However, in his response, Olak said that no money would be
given for transport noting that the only money approved was to be used for
feeding, drinks and hiring the meeting venue. His response didn’t go
down well several chairpersons who shouted on top of their voices in protest
while others murmured that the meeting was a waste of time.
The party officials pleaded with the chairpersons to sit for
some minutes to allow for the launch of the door to door campaign but dozens of
them stormed out of the venue in protest. One of the village chairpersons told
URN on condition of anonymity that it is unrealistic for the party leaders to
keep them for the whole day and send them off barehanded.
Olak later handed over bicycles and motorcycles to some chairpersons
to symbolize the launch of their door to door campaigns. NRM has embarked on
the door to door campaign strategy in Northern Uganda to solicit for up to 98%
of the votes for president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Emmy Daniel Ojara is a young journalist and has been practicing since 2013, during which he covered land rights violation in the contested Apaa and Lakang in Amuru as his first take ups while at Gulu Fm, Favor Fm and later Paidha Fm and Speak Fm where he is still attached.
Human rights abuses and denied access to land by security and government agencies has been the major aftermath of the contest over the lands. The underprivileged such as women, children and the elderly faced challenges in accessing soc
