Senile Museveni forget Acholi is part of Uganda
The Acholi sub-region is drowning in poverty and despair, yet the aging despot Museveni seems oblivious to the suffering of these Ugandan citizens. With 60% of the population in Acholi living in absolute poverty and education levels disastrously low, the glossy façade of Gulu City is nothing but a cruel illusion. Venture beyond its borders to places like Koch Lii village, and the harsh reality of Museveni’s neglect becomes painfully clear.
Since 1986, when Museveni clawed his way to power through violence in an election he didn’t win, Acholi has been ravaged by war and abandoned by those in power. Under his watch, both the LRA and his NRA/UPDF forces unleashed unspeakable horrors on the people—massacres, rapes, mass displacements, and the plundering of livestock. Decades later, Museveni’s regime has done nothing to compensate those who endured these atrocities. Instead, it continues to sow distrust by allegedly eliminating prominent Acholi leaders like General Lokech, Colonel Ochola, and the late Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanyah.
Moreover, while the region cries out for basic needs—hospitals with doctors and equipment, schools that actually educate, and protection from armed herdsmen trampling their lands—Museveni’s regime has the audacity to spend UGX 5 billion on parliamentary extravagance in Gulu. This grotesque display of corruption only underscores how out of touch the regime is with the real, dire needs of the people.
Forests are being destroyed for charcoal, young girls are being forced into marriages by poverty-stricken families, and armed Balalo herdsmen, seemingly supported by the regime, are displacing communities and grazing cattle on land that belongs to the struggling wanainchi. The challenges facing Acholi are immense, yet Museveni’s government continues to treat them as an afterthought.
It’s high time the regime acknowledges the plight of the Acholi and takes real action to address the decades of neglect and abuse. Northern Uganda has suffered long enough under the weight of Museveni’s indifference and corruption. The people of Acholi deserve more than empty promises and flashy displays—they deserve justice, dignity, and the chance to rebuild their lives.