Response: “Do the people of Tororo understand their political entitlement?” 

Last Updated on: 28th November 2022, 06:24 pm

People who have been in a cage too long, like a caged bird, think their oppressor is their helper.


By James William Mugeni

Iowa, USA, November 28, 2022: A commentary by Jackson Oboth published by The Independent under the headline “Do the people of Tororo understand their political entitlement?” was quite elaborate but missed a few points around the intractable poverty in Tororo. 

The underlying issues are very telling of the decadent parasitic structures and governance systems that characterize Uganda. It’s not enough to say ‘only talking about these issues will provide the solutions.’ 

You don’t expect to get redress from clueless leadership much, the same way as you don’t pick mangoes from an orange tree. The objective reality on the ground for a richly endowed District like Tororo is that the political leadership is bent on perpetuating poverty and the suffering of our people while pretending to be their savior. 

They are distributing poverty equally in Padhola to reign supremacy like a colossus over the subdued poor masses. What else explains why the leading producer of cement and other minerals is still lagging in development indices?

People who have been in a cage too long, like a caged bird, think their oppressor is their helper. Little wonder that such a blushful response from the unfortunate Odumo man! 

This statement, “… lack of money notwithstanding for us in West Budama Central is lucky to have an MP…” This is a response of a man suffering from Stockholm Syndrome hoping to flee with their pains to another world of perceiving wrong things in good light and viewing vile captors as saviors!

They talk of electricity and water which are wires passing over the heads of peasants and pipes under their cracked bare feet! What a paradox!

The mark of volunteerism and tokenism of providing vehicles branded in the names of these MPs which they call ambulances to increase the MPs’ visibility is pretense and the work of an evil genius. 

This is because those so-called ambulances help helpless patients into death traps and dysfunctional health centers with no facilities, no drugs, and no personnel. 

The so-called ambulances are always branded with the names of politicians as if they are the givers of rainwater and health. Foxing the people with bogus tokenism.


Until Padhola is provided for using her available resources like cement, etc, the recurring theme song of suffering will always be as people erroneously think the answer lies with these clueless politicians.

If the so-called ambulances polluted the villages with noise and dysfunctional health centers littered the countryside with mediocre services, if they were effective, Dr. Malinga, a certain Health Minister from Bukedi subregion would still be alive because he had one such so-called health center next to his verandah when danger knocked at his door by way of a treatable heart ailment.

So, Ugandans wake up! You have everything to gain by staying awake. You lose nothing by seeing through the smoke screen!

The writer is a Medical Clinical Officer and Certified Public Manager working in Iowa, USA.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *