The cultural leaders of Lango want a child of the late Col (Rtd) Charles Engola to replace their father as the next Member of Parliament (MP) for Oyam North constituency.
Engola who was shot dead by his bodyguard, Pte Wilson Sabiti last week at his home in Kyanja, a Kampala suburb was the MP for Oyam North and State Minister for Labour, Employment, and Industrial Relations.
The Parliamentary Election Act mandates the Electoral Commission to organize an election within three months when a constituency seat falls vacant.
Now the Lango cultural leaders under the leadership of the Paramount Chief Yosam Odur want the vacant Oyam North constituency seat to be reserved for the family of the late Engola.
They say this will be one of the ways to appreciate the deceased’s role in restoring peace in Lango sub-region when he commanded the UPDF and defeated the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels which had caused anguish to the people of northern Uganda for over 2 decades.
Robert Ajal, the Prime Minister of Lango Cultural Foundation came up with the motion of fronting a family member for the Oyam North parliamentary seat during a cabinet meeting.
“We should consider a possibility of being replaced by his son in parliament. We implore government to do proper investigation and get us information before the burial,” Ajal said.
Dr. Christopher Oleke, the Deputy Awitong of Otikokin clan, also emphasizes that picking one of the late Engola’s children to help complete his term in parliament will be such a great gift to the family in his memory.
According to the funeral program released by the government, his body will be taken to Parliament on Tuesday May 9, before a funeral service is held at Kololo Independence Grounds on May 10 and burial on Saturday, May 13 at his ancestral home in Awangi, Oyam district.
