Pressure as Former Minister Bakoko Declares Intention to Unseat MP Feta

ARUA. The former Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Zoe Bakoko Bakoru has officially declared bid for Ayivu East Division Parliamentary seat come 2026 general elections on the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party ticket.

While addressing journalists in Arua city on Saturday, June 7, 2025, Bakoko said it took her a long time to reflect and heed to the voters’ call to come and represent them in the 12^th Parliament because many people had already shown interest in the seat, currently being represented by Geofrey Feta.

“The purpose of this press conference is really to tell you that you requested me, Bakoko Bakoru Zoe, to represent you in Parliament on the ticket for Ayivu East. I took a long time to reflect because I know that we have people who are already there and who had already shown their interest and wanted to represent you. This is not something you take very lightly because I have been in Parliament before,” Bakoko said.

Bakoko reminded the nation that she served the people of the greater Arua district right from Madi Okollo to Yumbe as the then Woman Member of Parliament (MP).

“And I know the burden of being a Member of Parliament and after that the people of Ayivu asked me to serve them which I did for five years. At the same time, the President gave me a mandate as a full Cabinet Minister of Gender Labour and Social Development which I served. So, I understand what it means to be a Member of Parliament,” Bakoko stressed.

She added that: “At this time, I would rather have rested and be there to guide and advise but when I came back, many of my people came and asked me to go back to Parliament and represent them. The pain in my heart was, I knew politics has changed but the government commitment to serve the people has never changed in terms of development. I travelled the region and eventually I zeroed in on Ayivu East.”

She said what hurt her most as a Nurse and as someone who developed the health care system in the entire greater Arua, was that 20 years later, a health centre like Riki in Ayivu East Division is in a worse situation than what she left.

Bakoko said Riki should have been by government policy to a health centre IV level with a Doctor and a full referral program.

“It was like somebody drew a knife through my heart because that is my area which even took me to Parliament; training those Nurses, training the traditional birth attendants, training the health committees, but when I went to Riki, I looked at the health centre, children, women, men, everybody in the wards, it was just a sight that you cry for. Then I looked at the roads; just take the tarmac and reach Mvara, as you drive down to Oluko and Riki up to Vudrikali, for me, if your vehicle is not efficient, you will come back with your back broken because the road is so bad,” Bakoko said.

She stressed that the road from Manibe to Eleku is equally bad.

“I looked at the schools that the government has provided and funds to upgrade schools but nothing is fine on the ground. Our school dropout rates and children passing here is just so miserable. I wondered what happened to all those programs which we had started where we had competition in schools for children to perform better. I recall one of the reasons was that there is no electricity in our schools but now the government has brought electricity, so what has happened?” Bakoko asked.

Bakoko said she went to Riki and Eleku and she was told that the piped water in those areas will come from Terego district side into Arua city.

“Then my mind wondered what has happened, where are our representatives? The role of a Member of Parliament is to lobby, the role of an MP is to do budget allocation for different regions and Constituencies or areas, the role of an MP is legislation. I’m not going to say that the MPs are the ones who would have carried this water from one point to another but their capacity is to lobby for these services for their people who employ them,” Bakoko stated.

As a result, Bakoko said she has come to start from where she stopped and also bridge the leadership gap in Ayivu East Division so as to ensure services reach the people.

Joel Ayiko, the Speaker of Ayivu Division council, happily welcomed Bakoko’s decision to contest as Ayivu East Division Constituency.

Ayiko remained optimistic that Bakoko’s coming will spur development not only in Ayivu East Division but in the entire Arua City and West Nile region because of her previous record of being a good leader for all.

“Even as we receive her here, she has been intensively helping the people of Gulu. Gulu region has benefited a lot in this short time of Hon. Bakoko because of her integrity, because of the humility that she has; a very peaceful person who loves everybody. So, I’m urging all the people in Ayivu East to look at Hon. Bakoko as a Parliament figure who will not only sit there in Parliament but will sit in different fora to lobby for the people even abroad,” Ayivu said.

Rev. Stephen Embati said Bakoko has been like a mastercard for the people in West Nile and Arua in particular.

“Wherever we have been moving, she has been received as a hero, a peacemaker for us in West Nile, in Arua and in Ayivu where she is right now going to stand according to the request of the people who felt they have lived like orphans for too long,” Rev. Embati said.

Florence Sina, a councilor representing the people of Bunyu and Nyio to Ayivu Division, said she took a decision to support Bakoko because she is an icon of peace and unity in West Nile.