Who will take the Pallisa LC5 seat?

TWO candidates are tussling it out for the post of LC5 chairman Pallisa district. The position fell vacant in February this year, after Fred Wasugirya lost in a court battle due to election malpractices. The by-election is on Thursday May 10, 2007. Charles Opolot profiles the contestants

PATRICK LODOI MUTONO

A medical doctor and former Butebo county parliamentary seat contestant, Dr Patrick Lodoi Mutono is standing on an NRM party ticket.
He was born on March 17, 1960 to Silvester Lodoi of Kanginima, Kakoro sub-county in Butebo county. He is the fourth born out of eleven children. He is a trained Makerere University doctor with a masters degree in Clinical Tropical Medicine from the UK. He is married to Hellen and has five children, two of whom are adopted twins.

After his masters, Mutono worked in the public health sector in Philadelphia in the US. He returned to Uganda in 1996, where he founded the Lodoi Development Fund (LDF) in memory of his father who died in 1985, while Mutono was in his final year at Makerere University.

He believes the creation of LDF was a fulfillment of a call beyond his medical profession.
Mutono says he is not an amateur in politics. In 2001, he contested against the current minister of health, Stephen Mallinga, but lost after a court battle.

“My view is that politics is a vantage point whereby one can do a lot more in a wider area and create change. To do all these, one has to have some level of authority and I believe there is no better opportunity than being a leader at the district level,” says Mutono.

He believes Pallisa has many problems, but top of them is division, created out of tribal alliances. The Bagwere and Iteso are the two dominant tribes in the district, but they live in a continuous cycle of mutual suspicion and mistrust.
“As soon as I am elected, my first task is to sort out tribal divisions which have adversely affected development,” says Mutono. “Our people are waiting for somebody who can lay the groundwork so that their physical and spiritual energy is harnessed for development. I believe I am the one (for the job).”

Mutono has promised to streamline the production and marketing of rice in the district, which he says is a food basket for Kampala. “Pallisa has a big potential in rice production, but it is currently done in a haphazard manner. Nobody knows how much rice we produce and our people are constantly cheated by middlemen.”

Mutono is also looking at fish farming as another potential for the communities near Lake Kyoga, create a strong cooperative movement and initiate a saving culture.
He acknowledges that all these ideas are very difficult to market during campaigns because “people have no time”. Instead, they want a quick return on their votes (bribes).
“It is sad that politics in our country has been heavily monetarised and is sometimes based on emotions. This damages the electoral process. We should not take politics as a daily pre-occupation. Unless that happens, we shall never get anywhere in our pursuit for democratic values.”

Mutono hopes to scoop over 70% of the overall vote in the district. He hopes to enjoy a majority vote from women whom he described as keen partners in development issues.
Together with his campaign manager, Joseph Mpyangu, Mutono has promised that the LC5 contest will not generate into character assassination, campaign violence and vote rigging.

“I am prepared to respect the outcome of the poll whichever way it goes. Taligola is not my enemy, he is merely an opponent in a political contest. Once elections are over, anyone of us who goes through should be prepared to offer service to the other. So I do not want to entertain the idea of reconciliation because we have never been enemies. It is diversionary and a waste of our energies.”

“My message to the people of Pallisa is that we need to act as one. The future requires that we develop and that will happen if we act as a unit.”
ISSA BANTALIB TALIGOBA
Taligola is a former Makerere University students guild president. He is standing as an independent candidate.
He was born on March 10, 1972 in Gogonyo, to Assad Mayanja. He is the third of nine children and is married to Jacinta. They have three children.
He studied in different rural schools in Pallisa until he joined Makerere University in 1991, to pursue a degree in Surgery and Human Medicine. In 1994, he contested for the presidency of the students’ guild and won.

“During my leadership at the university, there were so many challenges, especially the issue of cost-sharing. Students resisted it and the Government misunderstood that I was anti-government. There were many demonstrations and strikes both in Makerere and Mbarara universities over cost-sharing and this impacted poorly on the Government’s image.”

Taligola says when he travelled to Portugal for a conference with Mark Kiirya, one of his guild ministers, they were framed. The problem was that they acquired their visas from Nairobi, Kenya because Belgium by then, had no embassy or consulate in Uganda.

“We were charged with embezzlement in 1995 and the Government confiscated our passports. The university administration suspended us and said we would only resume our studies after court had disposed the matter. By then I was in fourth year.”

Taligola says court dismissed the case in 2000 for lack of evidence. He feels that the people of Pallisa are yearning to be liberated and the person to do it is him. He hopes to sweep the poll across the district with over 70% victory.
“The Pallisa community wants somebody to liberate them economically, socially and politically. My role is to fight for their cause.”

Taligola and his campaign manager, Nicholas Osako say Pallisa has for long been led by politicians who drummed up tribal sentiments and alienated a big section of the society.
“Pallisa is a cosmopolitan society which requires services and development projects. They have been denied this for too long. That is why my cardinal agenda is to bring my people together, champion development and service delivery and reduce, if not stamp out, massive corruption.”

Taligola says the district has a debt burden of over sh550m due to mismanagement and corruption by the past political leadership.
Taligola says his being an independent candidate should not be a hindrance to service delivery and development of the district. Partnership with the central government will be crucial.

“The Government is interested in the development of people, so I am their ally in that direction. The time is now for us to harness our energies, have a visionary leadership that I believe I possess and move forward. Our people therefore have no reason to remain underdeveloped.”
Taligola says he is interested in exploiting the agricultural potential of Pallisa, which he describes as having fertile soils, but lacking in modern farming practices.
He also wishes to develop the tourism potential of the district, especially along Lake Kyoga region.
Taligola is praying for a peaceful campaign and election period, free from violence and tribal hatred.

He wants the Electoral Commission to respect the request of both candidates, that neutral presiding officers, preferably from outside the district, be deployed in Kibuku county, notorious for vote rigging.
“Once elections are conducted in a free and fair manner, I am prepared to hug my opponent if he emerges victorious. Politics is not a life and death issue and it should not be used by a few disgruntled politicians to perpetuate enmity among our people.”