Mixed reaction as Aringa community leaders declare support for Ex-NUP candidate

ARUA. There is mixed reaction among the voters of Arua Central Division in Arua city following reports that the leaders of the Aringa Arua Community Association (AACA) have declared support for the former National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate in Arua Central Division Parliamentary race.

Hadad Salim who has now contested as an independent candidate welcomed the support which was publicly announced on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 by Ham Muzamil Ezama, the AACA chairperson during a press conference in Arua City.

Ezama who doubles as the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (DRDC) of Nwoya district said the decision to support the former NUP candidate against the official NRM flag bearer for Arua Central Division, Jackson Atima Lee Buti also the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) coordinator for West Nile region, was taken during the AACA meeting held with the Elders’ Council on Sunday, November 2, 2025.

“As being a son of the community (AACA) where he seeks to be vetted, people looked at his competence, made some comparison, the elders talked and later, they endorsed him (Hadad) to stand,” Ezama said.

“We are always looking for a person who is fit for a position, that it why the Aringa community started voting for Late Yoram Ajeani who was a Maracha, they voted for Aridru who was from Vurra, they voted for Late Abiriga who was from Madi, they voted for Atima who is from Maracha, they also voted for Kassiano Wadri who is a Teregian. We even pronounced ourselves for Laurence Alionzi who is an Ayivu,” Ezama explained.

He added that this time, Hadad is a son of the Aringa community whom other members of the community thought it was a bad idea to endorse him.

“There are some members within the Aringa community who feel that it is a bad idea to support Hadad. That is also a positive thinking, we can’t say it is bad because political positions and decisions to elect rests on each voter, we can’t dictate. Those ones we don’t see them bad, we didn’t even summon to quarrel on them, that is their opinion,” Ezama stated.

However, he claims that the majority members of the association are backing Hadad in the coming election.

But Yassin Drate Jaffer, the campaign chairperson of the incumbent Arua Central MP, Atima Jackson Lee Buti, dismissed the claim, saying the endorsement by Ezama’s team has no impact on ground at all.

As an Aringa himself, Drate said the few individuals following Ezama’s leadership in AACA don’t represent the interest of the majority Aringa voters in Arua Central Division who have vowed to die behind MP Atima.

Drate urged the people of Aringa to disregard Ezama’s personal interest in this coming elections and instead continue supporting MP Atima for the continued development of Arua Central Division and Arua City at large.

Drate said Atima is the people’s choice, and because of the love he has for his people, they nicknamed him ‘Oya Suruku, Oya Dini ku,’ literally meaning he is a leader for all regardless of people’s tribal or religious affiliation.

But in his remarks, Hadad said before he visited the Aringa Arua Community, he visited the Alur community, spoke to them and that they also endorsed him.

“I visited the Ayivu, talked to them and they endorsed me, I visited the Nubi community, they endorsed me, the Congolese community also endorsed me. I have also visited SACCOs and I have been a member of these SACCOs, they have also endorsed me, so the gist of these consultations is to understand the unique interests of these groups to come up with a very clear plan for them,” Hadad said.

“So, I find it interesting that when I visited the Alur community, nobody complained, when I went to meet the Ayivu community, nobody complained, I met the SACCOs, nobody complained, now meeting the Aringa, there is a whole lot of hysteria everywhere,” Hadad said.

Julius Apeku, the chairperson of Hadad’s campaign team, noted that at this stage, they are doing consultations by trying to reach out to any organized entity.

“We reach out to them to see that we have a ground that already has a leap of our message. My interest is the transformation that our message can bring to a potential voter or to a citizen who is residing within Arua city central division,” Apeku said.