Nine men, woman battle for Lira city mayoral seat

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LIRA – Voters in Lira city are Thursday, January 22, 2026, walking to polling stations carrying a heavy choice: Who should steer the young city through its most decisive chapter yet?

Five years after Lira was elevated from municipality to city status, the mayoral contest has turned into a crowded, high-stakes race, drawing nine contenders, including incumbents, seasoned Opposition figures and independents—each promising to fix what ails the fast-growing urban centre.

The race sees Sarah Awor Angweri, the sole female candidate, competing with eight men.

The incumbent and the weight of office

At the centre of the contest is incumbent mayor Sam Atul, also ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag-bearer. His campaign leans heavily on incumbency and record. Supporters credit him with stabilising the city in its infancy, curbing the sale of public land, improving waste management and acquiring a grader to address Lira’s notoriously poor roads.

Atul argues that starting a city from scratch was never going to be easy. 

“About 70 per cent of the groundwork has been done,” his allies insist, portraying the first term as a foundation-laying phase. He has also pointed to clean audits by the Inspectorate of Government and praise from the USMID support team as proof of accountability in his administration.

With the construction of Akii Bua Olympic Stadium underway, bringing with it plans to upgrade 18.3 kilometres of roads, Atul is selling continuity. He promises to buy a hoe excavator to improve drainage and prepare the city for future floods, while urging residents to think of how Lira can generate its own revenue as new infrastructure opens economic opportunities.

Still, critics say unemployment remains stubbornly high and service delivery sluggish, arguing that the city’s promise has yet to match its reality.

The lone woman

Angweri, the current female workers’ representative in the city council, is a sharp critic of Atul’s leadership. She has framed her candidacy as a chance to give voice to women, workers and other groups she says have been marginalised in city governance.

Old hands, new ambitions

Several familiar political figures are also in the running. Romanus Hannie Okello, an independent and former councillor in the old Lira district, is banking on experience and name recognition, appealing to voters nostalgic for familiar leadership.

Another independent, Henry Opio Ogenyi, entered the race after losing the NRM primaries to Atul. His defiance of party structures has exposed underlying cracks within the ruling party at the city level.

Incumbent Lira city east division mayor George Okello Ayo is also running as an independent. Having previously failed to secure the UPC ticket for a parliamentary seat, Ayo is presenting himself as resilient and ambitious, hoping to capitalise on his visibility in the division.

Party politics and a two-horse race

Although nine names will appear on the ballot, many political observers believe the real fight is between NRM's Atul and UPC's Mike Ogwang Olwa.

Ogwang is no stranger to City Hall. A former mayor at the time of Lira’s inauguration, he returns after losing to Atul in the 2021 election. In a region where UPC’s historical roots still run deep, Ogwang is widely regarded as Atul’s most formidable challenger.

Meanwhile, Fred Obote, flying the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) flag, enters the race as a businessman. His performance is being watched closely as a test of FDC’s strength in Lango, a sub-region where the party has been weakened by internal divisions.

NUP’s urban pitch

The leading Opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP), is banking on Patrick Ogwang aka Med Mac to plant its flag in the city.

Ogwang is campaigning on a technocratic, data-driven platform, promising to introduce asset management systems, monitoring dashboards and a circular economy that treats waste as a resource through recycling and reuse. He wants to reorganise trade, decongest the city with satellite markets, modernise the main market, construct a clean abattoir, expand water and sewerage coverage, and refurbish neglected public schools such as Comboni College and Lango College.

“Our loans are being paid by generations unborn,” he argues, insisting that infrastructure must be maintained properly to extend its lifespan. Ogwang is also pitching a strong youth agenda—skills hubs, employment centres and better lighting, to tackle unemployment and urban insecurity, while promoting a night economy to boost revenues.

The independent voice

Among the independents is Patrick Opige, a community mobiliser who has made anti-corruption his central message. He promises to protect small-scale traders, improve roads, drainage and power supply, and reconnect citizens with City Hall. “We want to bring back hope that has been lost,” he says, appealing to voters still scarred by years of economic and social hardship.

The final choice

As campaigning drew to a close on Tuesday, voters were left weighing experience against change, continuity against reform, party loyalty against individual vision. From promises of clean governance and better roads to dreams of a greener, more organised city, the ballot tomorrow will determine which vision prevails.