THEY DANCED WITH HIM, THEN VOTED HIM OUT: ALEBTONG CUTS OFF ITS OWN LIGHT AND CALLS IT VICTORY
The Ajuri Alebtong parliamentary race was among the most closely contested in the 2026-2031 apart from Lira City WMP election. But what is the Power of the Ballot Without the Power of Sense: From Government Chief Whip to Political Exile: Who Really Lost in Ajuri? According to the EC declaration, UPC’s Jalameso obtained 16,336 votes, defeating the incumbent Denis Hamson Obua of the (NRM), who got 15,568 votes.
“They were with him on the dance floor, but left him out on the ballot.” That single line captures the tragedy of Ajuri County more accurately than any Electoral Commission result sheet. Yes, UPC’s Fred Jalameso has been duly declared the Member of Parliament for Ajuri County following the EC-ordered re-run in Awei Sub-county, Alebtong District. Democracy has spoken. Numbers have been counted. The process has concluded. But democracy does not always mean wisdom has prevailed.
What Ajuri is celebrating today is not merely a political win. It is a strategic self-inflicted loss wrapped in jubilation. What a shame to see Lango jubilating for turning off their own light. Let me explain:
THE ILLUSION OF VICTORY
Hon. Denis Hamson Obua was not just an MP. He was the Government Chief Whip, a cabinet-level power broker, a man seated at the centre of national decision-making where resources are negotiated, defended, and distributed.
In a political system like Uganda’s where power flows from proximity to the centre, removing your own son from the high table is not courage. It is gambling with your future. It is stupidity
This is not a neutral system. This is not ideal politics. This is survival politics. You don’t prosper by how loud you shout from the outside, but by how many of your own sit close to power.
WHY OBUA LOST? THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH
Let us be brutally honest. Obua did not lose because he is weak. He did not lose because he is uneducated. He did not lose because he lacks national respect.
He lost because he disconnected from the soil that produced him.
Power without presence breeds resentment. He rose but failed to lift enough people with him. The grassroots felt abandoned. Access became difficult. Warmth disappeared. Development at home became invisible while influence in Kampala grew.
Even elders complained. Even family murmured. And when leaders ignore their roots, the ground eventually rejects them. The people waited patiently and when the moment arrived, they voted with anger, not strategy.
A BITTER POLITICAL IRONY
Ajuri has replaced a man who could knock on cabinet doors at midnight with an opposition MP who may not even be heard at noon. This is not an insult to Hon. Jalameso it is political reality. As an opposition MP from a weakened UPC: He enters Parliament with no cabinet leverage. No proximity to executive power. No bargaining strength in the 13th Parliament. *The hard question Ajuri must answer is this:* Why punish access instead of demanding service?
Why cut off your own light instead of fixing it?
LESSONS FOR LEADERS AND VOTER
This election should terrify every public servant.
Power is rented.
Votes expire.
Titles vanish.
Hon. Obua ignored the lessons of 2021. The voters did not forget. But voters too must confront a difficult truth: Protest votes feel good today, but consequences last longer than emotions.
THE JANE RUTH ACENG STANDARD
This is why Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng’s leadership stands as a living testimony.
High office, yet grounded at home.
National influence, yet visible service.
Power, yet humility.
The formula is simple:
Serve visibly. Lead humbly. Deliver tangibly.
FINAL WORD
Ajuri did not just vote out, Hon. Obua.
Ajuri may have voted itself into political darkness and called it a celebration.
Time, not slogans, will judge this decision.
Hard talk is wealth.
And sometimes, the truth hurts before it heals.
Bantu MEDIA 