“I am the coartem for Kole South constituency” – then youth MP, Boniface Okot said before the January general elections.

A group of locals and voters of Kole South, in Kole district have described their former Member of Parliament, Peter Ocen Akalo, as having a contrasting experience of public service and community impact.

They say Ocen was known for receiving phone calls from his constituents, supporting poor families—especially pregnant mothers: he attended burials, supported churches, and assisted different saving groups.

Unfortunately, the “same voters” voted out Ocen in the January 2026 parliamentary and presidential elections. They replaced him with Boniface Henry Okot.

Okot also served as a northern Uganda youth MP.

Surprisingly, Ocen is said to have lost his seat as Member of Parliament due to widespread voter discontent regarding a lack of proper representation for the people of Kole South on the floor of Parliament.

However, to date, the now-disgruntled voters still describe him as a leader who received phone calls and lived freely with the community.

On Friday, October 2, Fred Anok, one of the local leaders of Amongi Lela in Ayer sub-county, accused MP Okot and his campaign agents of making promises during the campaign period.

He said the former northern Youth Member of Parliament promised them that at least each household in Kole South would receive a sack of maize seeds to help the community generate some resources.

However, all this did not happen: only one cup of maize seeds was donated to them, which a farmer cannot even get one snack from.

“I want to assure you that in the 12th Parliament, the people of Kole South have failed and they have voted wrongly, meaning that we shall still be crying for over five years,” Opio said.

“Let MP Okot know that the local community doesn’t hear words; whether you talk and talk in Parliament, we want service delivery at the village level, parish level, and sub-county level.”

He added that even though the former UPC MP was not so active in Parliament, he was very close to his voters, attending numerous functions and supporting different saving groups.

Denis Opio, a resident of Atek village, Lela parish, said, “I don’t know why the people of Kole dropped former MP Peter Ocen Akalo and replaced him with Okot Boniface. The pledges that Okot made during his campaign were all full of lies.”

For example, he said, “Okot promised us an ambulance and maize seeds, but we are surprised to see that one cup of Uganda prison maize is what Okot was distributing to some households, which I believe many families missed.”

Opio continued that accessing the former MP was very easy for them, but reaching their current MP is like wanting to meet with the President.

“At the moment, Opio Acuti’s ambulance and Ocen Akalo’s ambulance are rotating in Kole South like we don’t have a leader. I wish five years could get finished early so that we can take Ocen Akalo back to Parliament.”

“We want an MP who can interact freely with his voters. We must thank God that he’s not a minister, because if he was trusted with that position, then it means no one was going to see him or reach him. Even now, reaching him is very hard.”

Harriet Odongo, a resident from Alebere village, Angic parish in Bala sub-county, also acknowledged her experience with MP Okot.

“My husband was one of Okot’s campaign agents, but I want to assure you that since the election ended up to now, he is no longer picking my husband’s calls.

Also read: “I am the coartem for Kole South constituency” – youth MP Okot

“Apart from that, if we were to compare Ocen Akalo with him, there is too much difference because the former MP was so social with everyone without segregating whether you are UPC, NRM, FDC, NUP, or independent; he worked equally with everyone without any matter.”

MP Okot was contacted on Friday to comment and confirm whether these complaints are true; both of his known numbers were reachable, but no one answered.