Global Politics
UGANDA: GROUNDBREAKING MEETING OF ACHOLI PARLIAMENTARIAN GROUPS IN GULU CITY, “FREE OUR LAND”-NORBERT MAO
The Elephant in the room is our unity. What is our attitude toward Acholi chiefs? We should not forget our history; we have been at war for over two decades.
GULU CITY-SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21. 2026
By Okumu Livingstone Langol, (Uganda Correspondent)
Senior Counsel Francis Gimara moved the vote of thanks at a charged Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG) meeting at Acholi Inn, where Acholi District leadership urged stakeholders to implement resolutions on Oil and Gas, land grabbing, and Balaalo in relation to President Executive Orders No. 2 and 3. Calls for eviction, stopping charcoal and tree cutting by the migrants from North-Eastern regions.
“We have a lot of work to do; we have the Acholi Leaders’ Forum. We have been worried; are we the people who talk but do nothing? We have discussed and made resolutions on Oil and Gas; we did paperwork on the position of land; are we talking enough.” Senior Counsel Francis Gimara warned.
Added, what is the understanding of the Legislative Agenda, where are we in the Budget, what are we giving to the land sector, education sector, road sectors, tourism sector, environmental sector. We should be able now to tell our people, this is the amount we have for Moroto road, this is what we.
Lastly, Madam Chair, what is Acholi Agenda? Not everyone is a creator. Even God asked Moses, ” What do you have in your hand, Moses replied, ” A walking stick, and strike water of the Red Sea and the water made a dry walkway for Israel. One thing God gave us is land; we need to be dedicated to land.
If we ask Acholi people what is in their hands, Acholi has become a beggar. I think we can cross from one generation to the next generation, Senior Counsel Francis Gimara observed.
Hon. Norbert Mao, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the MP for Pece-Laroo Gulu City Division, during his closing address, began with a simple analogy by opening all the dignitary presents my judiciary is to close the Acholi Parliamentarian Groups meeting. I belong to APG.
There was a time when APG was in scandal; I want to thank the new leadership. There was an Italian, Enzo Mari, the Italian designer. He is associated with the idea of using simple, inexpensive timber and self-building in his 1974 Autoprogettazione project. Sources describe the furniture as designed to be built with cheap, off-the-shelf lumber and basic tools.
The kind of meeting is not talking about what to do on this road, put the money; our focus is to reach the road. People says even if you take the Horse to drink the water, they will not drink, but I will give Horses salt, and they will drink water. We have salt.
We do not need any encouragement for us to achieve that; we have new spirits and the new spirits to perform work. We have different bodies in Acholi, the APGs, Acholi Chiefdoms, and Pongdwong Acholi cultural revival that gave birth to the Rocco Paco initiative, the bodies to propel Acholi Agenda to the next level, argued by Senior Counsel Francis Gimara.
“Let us keep in our Obit, Acholi are in the middle; if a traditional leader has become a politician, it would be a problem, because elections come and go. Sometimes in the past I have said bad words to the current chair of APGs; I was aiming at Gen. Charles Otema Awany, her husband, until Gen. Otema Awany summoned me here in Acholi Inn, and we ironed out the bad words I had uttered.”
Let us not take everything personally; we demand what the Uganda government and President Museveni owe to Acholi; our ambition is a precondition to achieve our ambition. One thing to achieve is that we should have Acholi houses divided; a divided house will not stand.
Secondly, we shall not forget our history; we have been in war. All of us have our story; we have no sugar, no soap, but what are we doing? It is here that the decision was made in Acholi Inn to overthrow President Dr. Apollo Milton Obote II’s government.
That was the turning point in Uganda. The National Resistance Movement/Army were in the bush then, but they did not mind it because the Acholi planned that, and they knew we would bear the consequences, and indeed we have suffered for over 40 decades now.
We must know what happened in 1985, the Nairobi Peace Joke; the 2006 Juba peace talk is the primary condition, assuming the other forces planned to attack us now in Acholi Inn, this primary condition.
Secondly, when we disagree with Mark-Mot, Deputy Chair of APGs, that is secondary; all of us must struggle, all of us must compete in politics, some of us who were opposed to us. What is called a self-conception, let us understand the real situation in Uganda.
We must have an objective position are very important. You cannot have in your head what Uganda is, or what the world is, or what the condition is; we don’t have. We don’t have the capacity to use money when I called for funds to raise here; if I am lucky, we can raise only UGX 2 million, but yesterday in Mbarara, Jimmy Mhuwezi had a fundraising drive; he raised. UGX 800 million
Why did our children go to study in Kampala? Because the objective of our schools here has collapsed? A leader cannot talk badly when he is telling the truth. Whenever I sit at a Shell fuel station, I see the fattest cow being carried to Kampala from Pagak, Awach Sub County. Sitting and seeing the fattest cow pass is a very objective position.
AGPs have to understand the dynamics in the country. I will open the door where you can knock; we even unanimously elected Hon. Betty Aol Ocan to be our leader in Gulu City. We have three of us; we are in good talks. I must lead you whether you like it or not. We must work together; I will make sure that I reach my MP’s colleague.
The groundbreaking meeting was held today when APGS and Acholi stakeholders conversed here in Acholi Inn, where the decision to overthrow President Obote by Gen. Idi Amin in 1971 took place and also in 1985 the decision to topple Obote II’s government was made; I hope our agreed decision will be honored too.
Archbishop John Baptist Odama calls for inclusiveness, asking Acholi Parliamentarian Groups APG) to allow the religious leaders to be part of the resolved Acholi Agenda, because Acholi Peace Initiative Programs has the Sectarians.
“Why not involve Acholi Religious leaders too in the secretariat?” Archbishop of Gulu Archdiocese John Baptist argued.
Musa Keliel, Deputy Chair for Northern Uganda, implored APGs and Acholi leaders to seek help from the Muslim world; we have Nigeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and other nations. When we ask for help, they will not deny us.
How the new calls for reform happened
Hon. Anywar Ricky, the Agago West MP, on the formation of APGs started well, we the 28 MPs of the 12th Parliament we have agreed that the election is by consensus, and we nominated Hon. Catherine Lamwaka, the Omoro MP, as chair, and Mak-Mot Edward as Deputy Chair.
We agreed that our Acholi Agenda Legislative, what we are now want is to help Acholi community, first we agreed to have Acholi Legislative meeting and we have the first visited where we toured Oding Industrial hub, we visited Gulu University sport construction facility, we visited, Pece Acholi war memorial Stadium, we visited Gulu Airfield, and we visited Gulu Cancer Instate to access the progress of the work.
The 28 Acholi MPs from Acholi Sub Region: we have oil and Gas in Acholi land, but we have not benefited. We have decided on the following:
From the action policy, next time, we shall ask that we be seen as Acholi MPs; we have worked as individuals without an Acholi agenda; we are asking for accountability as we compare the number of things under the Legislative Agenda as Acholi.
All the time, we mostly need Acholi’s agenda. We have an airport in Acholi; why are we not the government not renovated it? What strategy do we have as leaders from Acholi Sub Region?
We need to take people out of poverty; prosperity is at 68 per cent, second to Karamoja Sub Region.
Why is all development taking place around the tribes who are our neighbours, but no tangible development is happening? Peace Stadium construction was to take place by Turkey Government, but later it was taken to Hoima; even Gulu Airfield was to be upgraded to an airport; the project was taken to Hoima.
Research finding Acholi has 80 per cent of Oil and Gas, but it is now claimed that the Oil and gas are in Bunyoro Sub-Region; the Acholi are not benefiting.
