Following President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni’s decision on April 24, 2025, to create additional districts in Tororo, Oyam residents and dozens of Lango people are now demanding Aber district.
The request to establish Aber district has been ongoing since 2010, with formal requests submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Parliament in 2011, 2018, and 2023.
Residents and activists argue that the Oyam district is “extremely large,” which has impacted service delivery. Oyam, established in 2006, now has 11 sub-counties and five (5) town councils, with a population of over 495,000 people.
While the President gave the Tororo people “what they wanted,” former Oyam South MP Isaah Otto Amiza claimed the President did not follow the legal parameters.
“…why not Aber with all the required parameters to qualify as a district?” Otto asked. “There are Constitutional parameters that should be followed, the President never bothered to follow these criterion.”
Otto, speaking with tndNews, stated that anything (development) given to Lango must first be protested. “When NRM government had given every region an independent university, Lira University was given a Constituent College until we launched a protracted protest to remove the sign post of Gulu University from Lango soil..”
He also cited the Lira-Kamdini road and the Akii Bua Olympic Stadium, both of which required Lango to protest first.
“Why should Lango be demonstrating on everything from NRM government when in the last elections, 63% of the people of Oyam voted Yoweri Museveni?” he asked.
According to Otto, Aber has a huge revenue potential due to its rich agricultural area, high production, and multiple markets.
These markets, he said, will generate revenue to support the Aber district once granted. If the NRM does not respond to the call and demand for the establishment of the Aber district, Otto and other residents who spoke with tndNews say they will “revenge.”
“No Aber, No Votes for NRM candidates including President Museveni,” the former MP, said. “The creation of Aber district is a must and non negotiable.”
David Odoc, a Kamdini town council businessman, supports Otto’s “No Aber, No Votes” campaign. “I support that thing 100%. We have failed to get Aber district even when we started demanding for it for long.”
In an interview, Odoc stated that Aber district will improve service delivery and create jobs for young people who have completed their education but are unemployed.
“This is the time that we should come together as the people of Oyam. To me, the govement has no problem, but some of our representatives who should lead us, lobby for us to bring Aber district.”
Although he was hesitant to name “these representatives,” Odoc stated that when approached, they “do not act.”
“If the government give us Aber district, it shall have paid us. In each election, we give a lot of votes to the movement in power,” Odoc stated. “We are not blaming the government but our representatives who are not representing us very well.”
Vincent I. Oling, Lango’s respected elder from Minuakul town council, supports the Aber district proposal. “I think it’s important to put it that Oyam deserves another district.”
The establishment of Aber as a district, he stated, “is a service that should not be demanded by the people, saying it is something to be taken seriously by any right thinking management of the society.”
“I’m one of those who have been failing to understand why Oyam has not been granted another district. Oyam South is very wide, very big, and has a very large population, while Oyam North is equally large, extending from Acaba to Ngai, Abok to Otwal, and close to Aromo on the Lira side.
Oling stated that he “takes very seriously the concerns that Oyam has been left behind and that Tororo, a smaller area with a smaller population and without comparison, has been considered.”
On where adminsitaive offices should sit, Oling said the proposed Aber district headquarters location is a minor issue.
“Anybody who is trying to play that trick should be weary of what we are requesting for, and for standing on our way. That (headquarters issue) is a minor thing that can be decided based on merits.”
He told tndNews that he does not care where they put it, but that they should consider accessibility.
Oyam North MP writes to President Museveni
On April 24, 2025, Oyam North MP, Dr Eunice Otuko Apio wrote to President Museveni requesting for the creation of Aber district and Oyam Central County.
MP Apio informed the President that creating Aber district and Oyam Central County would not only allow for better governance and resource allocation, but it would also facilitate more tailored development initiatives that meet the unique needs of our diverse communities.
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