Kaberamaido district chairperson loses seat to predecessor

Victor Rex Ekesu has lost the Kaberamaido district LC5 seat to his predecessor Albert Anthony Ejoku.

After losing the National Resistance Movement (NRM) ticket in the primaries to Ejoku, Ekesu decided to contest the national election as an independent.

But again, he failed to beat his fellow party member.

District returning officer Stella Koriang Modo declared Ejoku winner with 16,092 votes while Ekesu got 10,841 votes. 

Charles Ejiku of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) managed 384 votes.

Like in some other districts, low voter turnout was observed in the Kaberamaido elections. Out the 65,459 registered voters in the district, 27,586 voters turned up to vote.

It was a statistic much lower than that in the presidential and parliamentary elections, where 40,169 people cast their ballot.

"There are some voters who only mind about the elections of the president and Members of Parliament. Once peace is guaranteed, only few voters mind the remaining elections," said David Okello, a voter from Keolu polling station.

He said local government elections are more important because of the closer proximity of the leaders to the people.

Ejoku­ at a glance

LC5 chairperson-elect Ejoku is a retired soldier (lieutenant) who served under the Idi Amin regime.

He began his political career in 1991 by serving as a district councillor of Kobulubulu sub-county in Soroti.

When Kaberamaido district was created 10 years later, he continued serving as a district councillor and held different executive positions.

In 2011, Ejoku was elected the LC5 chairperson of Kaberamaido and then re-elected in 2016. He contested again in 2021, but lost to Ekesu.

Now that he has bounced back, has promised to provide better services to Kaberamaido, especially with the one billion shillings that the government sends every year for roads.