Mama Miria Obote in Gulu

Miria woos IDPs

From Weekly Observer 19th January 2006

By D. Otto Labeja (akwitezed@yahoo.co.uk) and Harriet Anena (anena_harriet@yahoo.co.uk)

UPC's Miria Obote campaigning in Amolatar

Miria Kalule Obote's rally in Gulu on January 10 was like the rebirth of the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) in the Acholi region.

Most of the people who attended the rally are gray-haired men and women, many of them referring to UPC as their 'tribe'.

In a district dominated by supporters of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), UPC has considerable support but some party members are not confident that Mama Miria will make it.

John Muto Ono P'Lajur, a journalist with The Daily Monitor, is of the view that none of the presidential candidates will get the required 51% of the vote to win the first round. "I'm sure there will be a re-run," he said.

Miria Obote had earlier caused excitement in Kitgum when she joined a traditional dance group. Her message to the people of northern Uganda was one: "The vehicle for the return of people from IDPs is UPC." She described the situation in the Internally Displaced People's camps as "slow genocide", planned by President Museveni when he was still in the bush.

Upcoming UPC rallies

19/1/2006 Mubende
20/1/2006 Kyaka & Kyenjojo
21/1/2006 Bundibugyo
22/1/2006 Kabarole & Kasese
23/1/2006 Bwera & Ishaka
24/1/2006 Rukungiri & Kanungu
25/1/2006 Kisoro