Patrick Okidi, Alebtong – Things are heating up politically in Moroto County, Alebtong district, regarding the position of an MP seat for Moroto constituency, after a vibrant UPC political analyst, Denis Opio Elia, has shifted his political direction to Moroto county for the 2026 election. This decision comes amidst the UPC wave currently sweeping votes across the entire Lango sub-region and parts of Northern Uganda.
While addressing the media in Lira City yesterday, Mr. Opio Elia stated that after consultation with the electorate, he is convinced without any doubt that come the 2026 General elections, he will be in the 12th parliament of Uganda.
Opio told The Ankole Times newspaper that he is confident in his bid to take over the Moroto County MP seat simply because he is a community brand.
There is a new wave of UPC support in Lango following the party’s victory in the just-concluded Dokolo Woman Member of Parliament by-election, which marks UPC’s second victory in less than a year. In July 2023, UPC’s Dr. Eunice Apio Otuku won the Oyam North By-election, defeating NRM’s Samuel Engola Okello and two other candidates by a significant margin.
Opio Elia is viewed as a potential candidate by many voters in several areas of Moroto County, Alebtong district, for various reasons, among them being the fact that his father, the late Hon David Onyok Etuku, was also a renowned politician and a leader who represented Moroto County in the Constituent Assembly (CA) and subsequently served as Moroto’s legislator in the 6th parliament.
His father, the late David Onyok Etuku, was a brother to the late Field Marshal John Gideon Okello, a Ugandan revolutionary and leader of the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964. Field Marshal John Gideon Okello (RIP) gained fame across the African continent after liberating the people of Zanzibar from the ruthless and brutal leadership of the Arab settlers at that time.
However, the late John Gideon Okello hailed from Okut Village, Alebtong parish, Aloi Subcounty in Alebtong District, the northern part of Lango sub-region. This has contributed significantly to the popularity of the Opio Elia family.
