Not many politicians have successfully switched constituencies and still remained as relevant.

One of the few exceptions is Annet Nyakecho, who served as woman MP for Otuke district in the 9th parliament. Today, in the 10th parliament, she is the MP for Tororo North.

When she graduated from Makerere University several years ago, politics was not on her mind. It was business.

Armed with a bachelor’s degree in Development Studies, she imagined that with the high unemployment rate in the country, it would be a wise decision to start a small business instead of running around looking for a white-collar job.

With some capital from her family, she opened a dry cleaning business, later expanding it to include a stationery business. Along the way, the Tororo-born woman met someone who hailed from Otuke district and they got married.

JOINING POLITICS

While Nyakecho initially had no plans of joining of politics, the creation of Otuke district in 2009 gave her the opportunity.

With an added advantage of being married to a son of the soil, different people convinced her to take a shot at the district woman seat and in 2011 she did and won. While Lango sub-region is historically known as the political base of Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), Nyakecho won the seat on an NRM ticket, beating seven other contestants.

“Imagine I was not born in Otuke but went there by virtue of marriage. When I was campaigning, I didn’t know the language (Langi). I would campaign in English and enlisted services of an interpreter. It was a shock when I won the elections,” a beaming Nyakecho told The Observer last week.

With the elections done and dusted, the 28-year- old legislator then became one of the vibrant youthful MPs in the 9th Parliament.

“The young MPs were quite many and we were all keen and eager to learn about parliament. It was also exciting to meet and rub shoulders with politicians that we had only seen on TV and read about,” she said.

Being an MP came with some perks such as a handsome salary, recognition, trips abroad and invitations to national and international functions.

“It was an exciting moment when I learnt that I would also get opportunities to travel abroad. You know as a young person, when you keep flying all over the globe, it is so exhilarating,” Nyakecho mused.

She was given leadership duties as the vice chairperson of the parliamentary committee on Science and Technology.

“It is a learning point for a young woman to come in and get a wealth of experience, get connections and make friends. I have never regretted joining parliament,” she said.

Back in Otuke, her major role was to lobby for services from government for her constituents, including construction of roads, rural electrification and income-generating projects for the people.

This meant dividing her time between parliament and being in Otuke to meet her people.

At least twice a month, she would leave Kampala on Friday night and arrive in Otuke on Saturday morning. Being a new district, the road network was very poor and she had to contend with waiting for government to work on the roads. She eventually lobbied for a first- class murram road, as well as rural electrification project for five sub- counties in the district.

Her term in office also saw women and youth groups formed which benefitted from government programmes like Naads and Youth Livelihood Programme.

“I was lucky to have favour because whenever I asked government for these things, I would get them. Several presidential pledges including building of a technical school were fulfilled,” she said.

TRANSITION TO TORORO

When her first term ended in 2016, Nyakecho decided to seek re-election but in another constituency, Tororo North. But she did not anticipate the hurdles she would face.

During the 9th Parliament, she was among a group of youthful MPs, led by then Northern Youth MP Evelyn Anite (now Koboko municipality) and  Peter Ogwang (Usuk) who agitated for the sole candidature of President Museveni.

Initially Nyakecho had planned to seek re-lection in Otuke. However, during the NRM primaries in Otuke, she lost to Sylvia Akello. It did not help that her marriage was on the rocks.

“When we went for primaries, I had two odds against me. My marriage and the camp of Omara Atubo kept campaigning that they wanted their own from the district this time round, and not a “foreigner”. They said they wanted someone who hailed from the district.

She said she was rigged out in the NRM primaries, which she challenged in court. After a long protracted battle, Nyakecho gave up on her political bid in Otuke and decided to go back home and contest in the newly created Tororo North, which had been split from Tororo county.

With her relatives firmly behind her back, Nyakecho’s journey back home commenced. The NRM had already elected a flag bearer; so, her only option was to stand as an independent.

During her term in Otuke, whenever she lobbied for government services to the district, Nyakecho would also use the opportunity to have some projects replicated in her village in Tororo. These projects were the springboard for her bid.

“Having spent a lot of time campaigning in Otuke, when I switched, I spent about a month convincing the electorate. It didn’t help that I was financially depleted,” Nyakecho says.

Faced with intimidation and mudslinging, she soldiered on, depending on her family and a dedicated team of campaign agents.

She said: “When I returned home, one of my opponents decampaigned me, saying I had been rejected in Otuke and that I was a Langi and not a born of Tororo. But nature had demanded that I get married, which I did and it was not my mistake that the Otuke people saw my potential and elected me.”

She said such talk did not discourage her. In fact, it gave her more inspiration.

“I was called all sorts of names. I was labeled a prostitute, a thief and coming out of that, you must have the esteem and courage and move with your head high, instead of hiding in fear. This was my antidote and it worked,” Nyakecho said.

With Shs 20 million on her account, the legislator traversed the constituency convincing the electorate to entrust her. Eventually, against all odds, she won the election defeating Geoffrey Ekanya who had represented the constituency for 15 years.

“It was a big challenge for me because of what I went through but I have come out of this battle more hardened. If you want to be a good politician, go to Lango. It is the birthplace of real politics. The experience I got there is what I used in Tororo,” she said.

She now holds a smaller constituency, compared to overseeing a district.

She said as a woman MP, the challenges are enormous because one has to traverse the whole district and spend more money. She hopes she will deliver to the people’s expectations such that she earns a second term, come in 2021.

“It is out of my work that my people will judge me and vote for me again in 2021. You know, my people in Otuke still call me, regretting what happened but I cannot hold it against them. So, I will put my focus here in Tororo,” she said.

MARRIAGE

With her marriage over, Nyakecho is single again. She currently lives with her children in Kampala.

“My marriage ended and I cannot shy away from it. It ended and I am single and not searching for now. I am happy because I also don’t want to get diverted and start thinking about people. I want to focus on family and my work,” she said.

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