SECU | ELECTIONS

This Friday, September 30, 2022, Sebei Elgon Cooperative Union (SECU) goes to the ballot in search of its next chairperson.

Voters are expected to vote responsibly in an event that takes place at Factory Hall of the Union.

Only eligible SECU delegates from within the sub-regions three districts will take part in the exercise.

Kapchorwa district has 41 societies – the highest by far, followed by Bukwo’s 21, and Kween stands at 10, totaling up to 72 societies.

Altogether, the societies will be represented by 216 with each one of them sending tree delegates.

The registered voters have five candidates to choose from for the 2022-2026 term.

Those who expressed interest in the candidacy for SECU chairpersonship include; the incumbent Emmy Soyekwo, philanthropist Stephen Herold Sabila, and social activist George Kiprotich.

Others are; senior police officer Moses Kubarika and renowned farmer and businessman Issa Satya.

Weeks leading to the polls, the candidates canvased the entirety of Sebei convincing the delegates of their ideologies.

Overseeing macro-operations of the farmers’ entity and activities of the executive committees, which will be formed after the elections will be the mandatory obligations of the SECU chairperson.

The Ministry of Trade, Industries, and Cooperatives preside over the election with support from the District Commercial Officers (DCOs) of Bukwo, Tom Toskin, Kween Silvester Bomet, and Kapchorwa’s Justin Jims Yeko.

Yeko, who hosted the Friday vote, told New Vision that all was set for SECU to decide.

Yeko continued: “Our call to both candidates and the delegates is to champion peace during and after the election.”

To ensure the safety of ballot safety measures before, during, and after the election, security agencies led by the police will deploy reasonably and strategically.

“We shall play our part in securing law and order from start to finish,” Fredmark Chesang, Sipi zonal police spokesperson, said.

Meanwhile, the process is crucially important for SECU in its bid to regain its lost glory and continue supporting farmers across the sub-region of Sebei. 

The union was formed in 1923 and is situated in the Central Business District of Kapchorwa Municipality.

Currently, SECU deals in coffee, maize, and barley, though not many farmers grow the cereal.