On 30th January 2025, while President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta was doing his regional PDM and Wealth Creation tour from Alebtong district in Lango subregion, one of the opposition big fish in Acoli-Subregion, Lakony Michael, the Amuru District LCV chairperson elected on FDC ticket decided to cross officially in the hands of the national chairperson of the National Resistance Movement, Yoweri Museveni Kaguta and breathing fire that he shall contest against his long time friend and comrade in the FDC and opposition, Gilbert Olanya for the Kilak-South Seat in 2026 but this time as an NRM.
It should be on record that Amuru district had few NRM elected leaders in a strategic position except for, Omach Andrew Atube who was the district chairperson, Ambassador Betty Bigombe who was the woman MP of Amuru, of course, Betty Bigombe’s role in talking to the LRA rebels was immense and popular at grassroots and being a’ daughter’ of Amuru, nobody could match her but disaster hit the NRM when she resigned to take up other responsibilities in October 2014 and the attempt by NRM to front Jane Francese Okili, the wife of Johnson Okili, from Olwal in Amuru and one of the former General manager of one of the famous hotels in Mbarara hit a dead snag as FDC fronted Akello Lucy a stanch humanitarian catholic, ‘daughter’ of Amuru in the 2014 Amuru Woman Mp bye-election when Bigombe resigned.
Jane Frances Okili, currently RDC in Moroto is married in Amuru but the opposition waged a war of origin and community loyalty citing what would become of Amuru people when the marriage breaks, since for Okili Jane, ‘she is just a ‘daughter’ of Amuru by marriage’-the Opposition propagated then. The FDC chief pinpoint for this job was then FDC, Michael Lakony with a clear Lamogi clan accent, the community quickly associated with, coupled by united opposition with DP Norbert Mao, UPC, Olara Otunnu, Mugisha Muntu all delivered a win for Akello Lucy and since then, the NRM had not claimed the woman Mp seat.
The 2014 by-election win that did place Akello Lucy as a Woman MP also made FDC in the 2016 election to secure LCV seat (Michael Lakony) and all the MPs seats up to date. One of the biggest factors oppositions in Amuru district have been riding on is the Apaa and Lakang land questions. When there was a polling station in Apaa, a family who voted NRM would be investigated and expelled from Apaa by the local leaders there then, and opposition used to get 100% votes. Wearing any yellow cloth was also a big taboo in Apaa, the network of Lakony who started as a district speaker when Omach Andrew (NRM) was the LCV chairperson and Gilbert Olanya in addition to Mp Akello Lucy and Akol Anthony were impenetrable opposition forces in Amuru district. However, the Government and Madivani decided to compensate people for Lakang land and the majority of these politicians were beneficiaries because they claimed to have land there; the Lakang Land saga brought Michael Ocula, then staunch opposition and former Kilak Mp who Gilbert Olanya replaced closer to NRM that led to his defection and deployment as deputy ambassador in Egypt after losing to Gilbert Olanya. But Jane Okili has outlived this propaganda because she is still married in Amuru.
Lakony has been chairperson of FDC in Amuru for over 15 years in his political career, I made a phone call to him for this article and he said his appearance with President Museveni in Alebtong was to make it public because he had already registered in the NRM membership yellow book in 2023.
“I will never be in any opposition in my lifetime, will tell my children how hard it is to live in opposition. You could get ground support from the people as an opposition but higher government officials won’t take you seriously”. Lakony told me. This tells you how far, a man has gone in his defection journey!
In conclusion, it is true that opposition has lost a comrade and with the full support of the NRM, Mp Gilbert Olanya shall face a big opponent in the 2026 election because, Lakony one of their tacticians is now on the yellow side and the FDC in Amuru shall be left with no option but to change tactics, although not popularised, just know that the recruitment of the former LRA combatant to the UPDF also played a significant role in many successes of the UPDF in battles hence the FDC and opposition in Amuru should not underrate the Yellow team recruiting Lakony Michael.
Jane Frances Okili now RDC in Moroto and many other NRM members Lakony confronted when he was still a political player and tactician with FDC should reconcile position, support and work with him closely, since there are no permanent enemies in politics, because officially he is on their side now.
Nobody wishes to side with failures too, not even President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta, it’s up to Lakony Michael now to convince the NRM and the Principal that indeed, he is the right weapon and game changer for NRM flourishing in Amuru district because 2026 shall set this stage bare.
Ojok James Onono is a social-political commentator who is well acquainted with Uganda’s media, communication, and journalism landscape.
