A prominent businessman from Kole district, Johnson Aligi, has announced his intention to contest for the Kole South parliamentary seat in the 2031 general elections.

Aligi, who is the Managing Director of Akalo Comprehensive School in Akalo town council, more than six months ago donated shs10million to support President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta’s campaign for reelection.

Asked why he’s eyeing the Kole South MP seat, Aligi stated that he was motivated to run after observing a number of developments in the neighbourhood.

“When we keep quiet, UPC will take over the leadership of Kole South in the next general election,” he told tndNews, Uganda, on Saturday. “That is why I have decided to come and rescue the people of Kole South from the waves of UPC, whose signs of finishing the NRM have already started.”

He added that to challenge the incoming UPC candidates ahead of the 2031 election, the NRM needs a vibrant and fresh leader to address the matter when the time comes.

Currently, former Kole South MP, Peter Ocen of the UPC party is making the NRM less sustainable in society, Aligi added. “That is why Mr. Aligi has come forward to challenge the UPC candidature of Hon. Peter Ocen.”

Right now, he said, the incumbent MP, who has stayed in Kampala for the past eight months, has allowed former MP Ocen Peter to dominate societal activities, especially at the local level.

“The emphasis is that at the moment, Ocen is on the ground attending to every foundational matter at the village level, which makes him more popular and allows him to overshadow what should have been done by the current MP, Boniface Okot.”

“….within a period of eight months, how about in three years? Now, following his behavior, some people have started saying they voted wrongly.”

Aligi acknowledged that although it is still too early, it is now his ambition to run for the Kole South parliamentary seat, emphasizing that the NRM party needs a person who can face the UPC candidates and defeat them, rather than someone who may hold the flag and later disappoint the entire party.

“We shall not tolerate that,” he said.

In his quest, Aligi is undertaking a number of activities in Kole South, including the repair of over 20 boreholes to ensure his future constituents are kept healthy from waterborne diseases.

He has also pledged to have all broken borehole water points repaired to avoid people sharing water with their animals. Apart from water repairs, he promised to start supporting church activities to ensure good churches are built for worship.

Other achievements include working on broken small bridges, which were a major challenge for the local community.

Among the bridges he has already worked on are the Acan Pii bridge in Akalo town council, the Owango Dyang/Bar cell bridge located in Bala, the Akuriden Adwila bridge in Bala sub-county, and the Akuriloba bridge located in Akalo town council.

Also read: Kole South voters say they’ve ‘lost touch and trust’ since voting for Boniface Okot

“I am doing this because I want the locals to move freely in accessing good markets for their goods, to access health facilities without too much delay on the road, and to help young school learners reach school very early, whether it rains or not,” he explained.

Next year, he intends to establish new technical and vocational skilling hubs in Bala town council to benefit those who have not advanced with their education.

Another matter is the opening of Akalo School of Nursing and Midwifery Teaching Hospital, which will be commissioned in 2028.