Tolit Advises Acholi MPs

By Jimmy Adriko Col. Fred Tolit, the UPDF Assistant Chief of Staff, has cautioned MPs from Acholi not to incite residents against an elected government. He said this in a phone interview with The New Vision in Kampala on Thursday. "Instead of apologising to the Acholi for asking them to vote for a looser, the Members of Parliament, Okumu Reagan and Okello Okello put announcement on Radio Uganda asking the the Acholi to stand firm in protest," Tolit said. He said he was surprised with the Luo announcements on Radio Uganda on Thursday, in which the two MPs were planning celebrations. "They misled the Acholi to vote for looser presidential candidates in 1996 and again in 2001 and they are happy with that," he said. Okumu, MP for Aswa, and Okello, MP for Chwa, were heading the campaign team of Col. Kizza Besigye in Acholi. "I believe that the Acholi vote for Besigye was not a protest vote as the two MPs put it. It was the message the MPs gave to residents that Besigye was the winning candidate that brought about this," he said. "Its healthy to criticise systems and provide solutions. But it's wrong to mobilise the people against an elected government. Democracy is all about taking a position and also having respect for what the majority have decided." he said. "I urge the Acholi to join the rest of Ugandans and express their grievances humbly to the government. In any case, the government was already addressing some of the problems in Acholi," he said. Ends