By Elite Reporter
The government of Uganda has finalized plans to create a new district known as Terego District, which will be curved out of the original Arua district.
The development was announced on Monday by the Parliament of Uganda, which tweeted thus; “The House has adopted a motion for creation of the new district of Terego District from Arua. The motion was moved by Hon Raphael Magezi, the Minister for Local Government. 236 MPs voted for, 2 against and 5 abstained. #PlenaryUg.”
However, the move has since been interpreted by many opposition politicians as a ploy by government to weaken the People Power stronghold in Arua Municipality, which is currently headed by Hon. Kassiano Wadri, who is the Member of Parliament for Arua Municipality.
Political pundits reveal that after the National Resistance Movement (NRM) machinery realsing that Bobi Wine’s People Power movement has a lot of support in Arua district, they have since decided to split the area into two districts.
The aim, according to the political pundits, is to curve out an area that has many NRM supporters (Terego), whereby even if a People Power candidate wins in Arua in the forthcoming 2021 General election, the NRM will still retain victory, since many of the Party’s supporters are concentrated in Terego.
It should be recalled that Arua became a thorn in the government’s side following the fracas that engulfed the district during the by-elections that saw Wadri emerge winner.
Wadri was elected Arua municipality MP following the death of NRM diehard Col. Ibrahim Abiriga, formerly the area legislator, who was brutally gunned down in 2018.
However, the 2018 Arua by-election was marred with a lot of chaos which resulted into security forces shooting at people, among them Bobi Wine’s former driver Yassin Kawuma, who was shot dead inside his (Bobi Wine) Tundra vehicle, in Arua town.
Following the fracas during which People Power supporters allegedly threw stones at President Yoweri Museveni’s convoy, Bobi Wine, Mityana municipality MP Francis Zaake, Kassiano Wadri, Asuman Basalirwa, Allan Ssewanyana and several other People Power supporters were arrested, tortured and charged with among other cases treason.
To date, Bobi Wine, Zaake, Wadri, Eddy Mutwe and other People Power members are still facing the charges at the Gulu High Court, although they have since denied the same and described the cases against them as being politically motivated.