Religious leaders from Acholi have asked political leaders from the sub region to stop ring fencing the Parliamentary Speakership position and claiming that it should be theirs because of their tribal relationship with the late Speaker Jacob Oulanyah.
The Retired Bishop of Kitgum Diocese, McLeod Baker Ochola, who made his statement on one of the local radio stations in Kitgum district, as per Uganda Radio Network, said that the demands by the Acholi leaders are being driven by selfish motives because Oulanyah was gifted as an individual, and replacing him with an Acholi leader might not necessarily mean that the successor will perform like Oulanyah.
Bishop Ochola explained that Oulanyah was a gifted man who came from an intelligent family, and his intelligence can’t be inherited by other Acholi leaders to enable them serve like him.
“Any position given to Acholi or any other tribe is given on merit and according to Ugandan law, not how we want. Saying a position was held by your child and should therefore be filled by your other children isn’t right. Acholi should know that Oulanyah was a gifted man from an intelligent family. I personally know him as a man whose intelligence was God-given. So, a person’s ability is their own. It can’t be inherited. If another Acholi is made to replace Oulanyah, s/he will not take Oulanyah’s brainpower to make them excel in that position.”
In the same way, the Retired Archbishop of Church of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi while on KFM noted that it’s not the North that voted for Oulanyah to be a Speaker of the 11th Parliament but it was Parliament, therefore it must be Parliament again to choose who will take on the deceased’s legacy.
“I don’t think it was the north who voted for him to be Speaker, it was Parliament therefore anybody capable of holding the mantel in that position should be the one to be voted for to continue with the legacy of the late Speaker. If the Parliament is to continue, let the right person sit where Jacob was.”
The fallen Speaker of the 11th Parliament Oulanyah, passed away in Seattle, USA, on Sunday, March 20, 2022.
In a move to find who will replace Oulanyah , Members of Parliament from Acholi a few days came out to demand that fallen Speaker must be replaced by a person from Acholi land.
They argued that Museveni had already given the position to an Acholi, and since Oulanyah had only served for less than a year of his five-year term, the remaining years should be given to an Acholi as well.
Also on Tuesday, MPs from Acholi, Lango, and West Nile sub-region resolved that if the position of Speaker is not reserved for the region, they will boycott the election of the speaker on Friday.
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