Drama in Gulu city as power outage disrupts swearing-in ceremony

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Drama unfolded at Laroo-Pece City Division headquarters in Gulu city when the Mayor-elect, Gifter Aber, delayed her swearing-in ceremony, insisting that her voice be amplified on a functioning public address system before she could take her oath.

The ceremony, presided over by Gulu Chief Magistrate Augustine Alule Koma, had begun smoothly on Thursday morning as 39 division councillors gathered for the official inauguration. 

However, tension emerged at exactly 11:30am when Aber stepped forward to take her oath, and a sudden power outage disrupted the sound system.

After receiving the microphone from the magistrate, Aber declined to proceed without a loudspeaker.

“I want my voice to be heard beyond the perimeter wall,” she said, drawing murmurs from the crowd.

The unexpected standoff brought the ceremony to a halt for nearly 10 minutes as technicians struggled to switch on a generator. At around 11:45am, the public address system was restored, and Aber swore in.

Following the ceremony, she was handed several official documents, including the Local Government Act, the Rules of Procedure for Local Government Councils, the National Development Plan IV (2026–2031), the Laroo-Pece Division Development Plan (2025–2031), and the approved 2025/2026 division budget. 

She also received the keys to the mayor’s office, the official vehicle, as well as a handover report from her predecessor.

Aber defeated Geoffrey Otim, the Democratic Party chairperson for Gulu City and the pioneer mayor of Laroo-Pece Division.

She pledged to fight corruption and announced that one of her first assignments would be engaging Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) officials over persistent power outages affecting Gulu City.

“I will begin by meeting the UEDCL leadership on Monday to address the ongoing electricity challenges in the city,” she said. After Aber’s swearing-in, all 38 division councillors were also sworn into office.