Lt. Gen Charles Otema Awany waves to residents of Obiya West in Gulu City during consultative meeting. Photo By Brian Komakech
By Brian Komakech and GNNA Editor
Gulu
As the 2026 Ugandan general elections approach, the political landscape across the country is heating up.
The Electoral Commission released the roadmap leading to the 2026 General Elections in August last year, detailing the dates for the demarcation of electoral areas, an update of the voters’ register, a date for the presidential nomination, and the election dates.
The electoral roadmap has since seen many incumbent political leaders making groundwork on how to consolidate their positions. And for some political novices, the race has started rather too early.
In Gulu City, the political environment is quickly changing with a public declaration of political interest by one of the top army officers, Lt. Gen Charles Otema Awany, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Reserve Force Commander.
It wasn’t a surprise two weeks ago when Gen. Otema launched his political ambition for the Gulu West Parliamentary seat, a position held by Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, who was a strong opposition political figure in the Acholi Sub-region.
Gen Otema has since been making consultations within the various cells in the Bardege-Layibi Division drawing hundreds of community members. This is the first open political consultation a political figure is making within Gulu City, ahead of the 2026 general polls.
Until recently, the 60-year-old army officer hadn’t publicly shown interest in holding a political office, albeit being an influential figure in the politics of the Acholi Sub-region over the past years. He has over the years thrown his support behind several political leaders and actively mobilized for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.
Why I’m up in Politics
Speaking to GNNA in an interview over the weekend, Gen. Otema revealed that his intention to vie for the Gulu West Constituency parliamentary seat was a call from the community members and local leaders in the Bardege-Layibi division.
“The councilors of Bardege-Layibi especially the LCI from all the villages collected themselves and asked me to come and help them lead the people of Bardege-Layibi, and I told them look, I have no problem, I can give service to my people,” said Gen. Otema.
According to Gen. Otema, his current consultative meetings within the Bardege-Layibi Division are aimed at helping him understand the level of support from his supporters before he officially declares his intention to contest.
He however notes that on top of his manifestos for Bardege-Layibi Division, is poverty eradication and boosting up development through businesses to improve household development.
“The level of poverty is quite disturbing, and that’s where my focus will be, how can they be supported so that they get out of the poverty they are in? They are near the town, they have no garden, and they survive on businesses,” he said.
I pacified Acholi
To drive his agenda on his political ambition, Gen Otema said he worked hard in the pacification of the Acholi Sub-region and Northern Uganda in general during the two-decade brutal insurgency orchestrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.
On this, he said he can’t sit and watch the region crumble again in poverty yet he was able to fix the insecurity challenges that affected the Sub-region’s socio-economic development.
“You know they are all singing that our people are poor and we are not doing anything about it. I participated to secure and bring peace in the Acholi Sub-region, why can’t I also contribute to improving the economy of the Acholi Sub-region,” he said.
The Uganda National Household Survey report of 2019/2020 conducted by the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics shows the poverty rate in Acholi stood at 68 percent, higher than the national estimate of 47 percent.
Retiring from the army
Gen. Otema’s consultative meetings which have gone on for two weeks has however attracted criticism from his opponents and opposition politicians within the city who alleged it is illegal since he is still a serving army officer.
Christopher Acire, the Special Presidential envoy for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party in charge of the Acholi Sub-region said for Gen. Otema to fairly face off with other political opponents, he needs to resign from the army.
Acire said as FDC, they also intend to lure the battle-hardened General into their opposition political camp so that they achieve the common agenda of developing Acholi and removing President Yoweri Museveni from power.
His counterpart, the Omoro District FDC Party Chairperson, Justine Odong Obiya, reiterates that the law forbids serving army generals from engaging in partisan politics and threatens that they may take up the option of petitioning court over Gen. Otema’s political moves.
“He has not yet even resigned from the army; he is a civil servant. That is very illegal. He first needs to resign if he needs to participate in active politics. Otherwise, we need to consult our lawyers so that he first stops until he resigns then he continues with his consultation,” he said.
I’m not campaigning
Gen. Otema however rubbished claims that he had started campaigning before resigning arguing that his consultation isn’t a political campaign.
He noted that he would only apply for retirement once convinced that he had enough support from the electorates.
Section 99 of the UPDF Act states that a serving officer or militant who desires to seek political office shall first resign or retire from the defence forces.
Army speaks out
UPDF Spokesperson Brig. Felix Kulayigye told GNNA in an interview that it was still early for the army to comment on the consultation of Gen. Awany since he hasn’t officially declared interest in contesting in the parliamentary race.
Can he make it to parliament?
This isn’t the first time Gen. Otema has tried a shot in Parliament. In 2021, he was nominated by the army and contested for the Army representative in the 11th Parliament but lost the election after garnering only 129 votes.
Some political analysts in the region however say Gen. Otema’s current consultative meeting isn’t a surprise given his past political involvement.
Arthur Owor, the Director of Research and Operations at the Centre for African Research in Gulu City says while Gen. Otema’s political ambition in the Bardege-Layibi division is speculative, he brings a big challenge to the incumbent.
Owor said the battle-hardened army officer has the full backing of the state and enormous financial resources adding that he has lately been sanitizing his image following his involvement on issues of migrant cattle keepers.
He however described Mapenduzi as a “giant slayer” whose political influence in his constituency and at the national level shouldn’t be underrated.
Mapenduzi however declined to give detailed comments when contacted about his opponent’s consultative meeting in his constituency.
“Watch the space,” He told GNN in an interview Thursday.
Like General Otema, Mapenduzi has been in politics for more than a decade starting as a councilor in Bardege Ward in 2006 and later rising to become the speaker of Gulu District Council.
In 2013, while under the FDC party, Mapenduzi was elected the Gulu District Chairperson, a position he held until 2021 when he joined the Parliament.
Mapenduzi aligning with NRM
In June 2023, Mapenduzi signed a cooperation agreement to work with the ruling party and was received by Richard Todwong the party’s Secretary General.
In Parliament, the legislator resigned his position as chairperson of Public Accounts Committee for Local Government, which he was appointed by National Unity Platform (NUP).
Immediately during one of plenary sittings, Denis Hampson Obua the government chief pronounced that Mapenduzi had been designated as the Chairperson Public Service Commission, a position he holds to date.
The electoral commission has so far designated July this year as the Demarcation of electoral areas, while an update of the voter’s register is slated for July 2025.
Presidential nomination has been designated for October 2nd and 3rd 2025 while the election will be conducted on January 12 2026, according to the road map to the general election released by the electoral commission.
