Born to poor parents and raised in war-torn northern Uganda in the 1980s, Otuke East MP Julius Acon Bua has revealed that his athletics career journey started in 1988 when he was in Primary Six.

Acon, who studied at Makerere College School in Kampala on a sports scholarship, said he believes God always wanted to use him.

“From the way I suffered growing up in a deplorable environment, I could not afford to pay school fees nor afford a proper meal,” he told tndNews, Uganda.

The lawmaker, who started competing in short-distance races on the international athletics circuit, said in 1994 he won the 1,500m gold at the World Junior Championships in Lisbon, Portugal.

“I won gold wearing borrowed shoes because I did not have running shoes,” he added. On July 29, 1995, he also won a bronze in the 1,500 metres in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Also read: MP Acon to MP Abeja: “You lack the authority to stop my Otuke West projects”

Acon also won another sports scholarship in 1995 to the US (George Mason University) to study and pursue his athletics career, which lasted over a decade. He once held the 800 metres American Collegiate in-season record set in 1996 (1:44:55), which lasted for 21 years.

In 1996, Acon competed in the Olympic Games in the 1,500 metres category in Atlanta, US, and in 2000, he competed in Sydney, Australia. He was team captain on both occasions.

He also competed twice (1,500 metres) in the Commonwealth Games (Victoria, Canada 1994 and Birmingham, UK 2002). “But I had a vision to run and go to school so that when my legs are done, my brain could help me to get a job,” he told The Independent in an earlier interview in 2018.

Acon started several development projects in his home district of Otuke through his “Acon Uganda.” In 2011, Acon built a Health Centre III unit in Otuke and named it after his mother, Kristina.

He also started agricultural projects, giving seeds to farmers (5kg of simsim and 10kg of soybeans) and a hand hoe to each household in his constituency.

In 2016, he entered national politics and was elected Member of Parliament representing Otuke County in Otuke district after people asked him to represent them because of his legacy and generosity.

Thereafter, when he joined politics, Acon began lobbying for funds for boreholes. “For the past five years, I have drilled 46 new boreholes at a cost of about Shs 1 billion,” he said.

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MP Acon says he has also bought two ambulances at a cost of shs 200 million and done projects covering about 18,000 households out of about 26,000 households in Otuke district.

He wants to groom young talent to get free secondary school education around Kampala (Old Kampala S.S.) and intends to work with his former coach, Christopher Mugisha.

In 2023, MP Acon started his personal project in the entire district of Otuke to support poor families by distributing goats. About 1,800 goats have been dispatched to different groups, with about 35 groups having already benefited from this project.

These groups include Kuc Odwogo, Pit Ber Mon Parpiwa, Kokanikweri Ogoro Onote Orib Cing, Nen Anyim, Ilema Kec, and Gwok Yot. Each group has walked away with 50 goats. The other eight groups in Otuke West have also received goats.

He has also pledged to start his next project in 2027 to work on roads and “community bridges” that are in bad condition. His projects alone since he joined Parliament—and even before—can follow him.

Until this month, MP Acon says he has drilled 157 boreholes to ensure there is enough access to water points, including a Health Centre III that needs government intervention.

Also read: 157 boreholes drilled over 11 years: ‘The water story of MP Acon’

This is in addition to the distribution of seeds, hoes, and animals, which also falls under the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

Born on 12 December 1976, Acon, who is now 50, says, “I was raised by a single parent after the death of my mum. So what God has given to me, I’m ready to share it with all the people of Otuke and beyond.”

Through supporting different saving groups, distributing goats, seeds, drilling boreholes, upgrading roads, and connecting young, talented youth, among others, he says he wants about 28 parishes and over 300 villages in Otuke East to start benefiting first before it is extended to Otuke West.

“I’m doing this for the community as part of efforts to improve household incomes and fight the high level of poverty.”