Leave Otunnu alone

By Samuel Oduny

It was clear for all to see on our national TV channels, the brown-shirts or shock troops made up of some UPC youth were back to their old fashioned gymnastics, manhandling their outgoing President, Dr. Olara Otunnu, at the party headquarters at Uganda House.

 These politicised hoodlums even forcefully stopped vice-president, Joseph Bbosa, from leaving the building after the man peacefully protested the declaration of Lira Municipality MP, Jimmy Akena, as the 2016 presidential election sole candidate for UPC.

This pushing and jostling of Dr. Olara Otunnu and his colleague was a big shame to many Ugandans and should never have happened.

It reminds me of the dark eighties, when UPC youth wingers, at times together with the UNLA, looted, kidnapped and evicted innocents and brought untold misery to all who opposed their shallow political ways.

I know very well that the UPC never had any free and fair leadership elections. Even the founders of the Congress like Ignatius Muzazi and Abu Mayanja were not pleased when Obote manipulated his way to the top at the Mbale party convention in 1960.

These pioneers were so disgusted they joined other parties opposed to UPC.  And soon after Independence in 1962, at the grand UPC gathering in Gulu’s Pece Stadium, when internal opposition was muzzled, party members like Grace Ibingira and John Kakonge lost their final iota of trust in the leadership of Dr. Obote.

What is happening to Olara Otunnu is not a new about UPC but it is the same old trick that Obote used to play party politics.  

 Jimmy Akena will be the new party leader and all his righteous supporters should reconcile with those who stood behind Otunnu so the party can rescue the little which is left for them on today’s political plate.

Any ill feelings and filibustering of the triumphant Akena detach towards the Otunnu side will only lead to poor internal relationships and might result in growing sectarianism within the party, especially between Lango and Acholi sub regions.

As we speak many foes and friends advised Dr. Otunnu to abandon the UPC as some in the Lango sub region never welcomed him with an open heart because of his indigenous origins.

The UPC used to have widespread support across all ethnic boundaries and is still seen by many as the party that lead Uganda to independence in 1962. It is not a small village saving cooperation benefitting narrow local interests or ethnic based welfare.

 Akena should order his shock troops back to their lairs and has to follow in his father’s footsteps. He should consolidate the great work Obote did in attracting the people of the Acholi sub region and start building an inclusive party that welcomes all Ugandans in all positions.

Furthermore, the age of Otunnu and his knowledge has to be respected by all party members. The contempt showed by some uncouth youth for Dr Otunnu and Vice President Bossa is an insult to all mature Ugandans regardless of their political affiliations and shows that some of us still did not learn hard earned lessons from the even harder past.

This kind of political cannibalism and disrespect for senior citizens like Otunnu does not forebode well for the future of the Uganda Peoples Congress.

Finally, it is high time Otunnu took his time to contemplate on how you were treated by the UPC rank and file under Jimmy Akena’s leadership. You might want to consider putting your substantial skills, experience and knowledge to better use elsewhere. 

The writer was a classmate of Olara Otunnu at Gulu High School and is a strong supporter of NRM in Gulu.