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Some powerful influencers in Kampala have for months been trying to get president Museveni to meet the veteran Lira businessman Geoffrey Etwop.
The meeting is aimed at changing and improving on how the president perceives tycoon Etwop whose land dealings were for years investigated by the state house anti-corruption unit (SHACU) at the instigation of Museveni himself.
It went as far as having the DPP sanction criminal charges against the tycoon and sympathisers believe that such criminal investigations must have soiled tycoon Etwop’s reputation in front of Museveni who he originally didn’t support.
Like many leading Langis, Etwop was at some point a diehard supporter of Dr. Kizza Besigye especially in 2001 when he first challenged the veteran leader from Rwakitura.
Besigye’s major point was that Museveni had diverted from the original ideals of the movement for which they risked their life during the NRA bush war which lasted for 5 years. Many Ugandans especially in Lango agreed with Besigye and gave their full support. And Tycoon Etwop was one of them.
Indeed, until not very long ago, Etwop had a lukewarm attitude towards general Kaguta Museveni. This partly explains why he has always exercised his independent mind when determining who to support in the elective politics of Lira Township and Lango sub region in general.
For instance, he has always been a diehard supporter of UPC President Jimmy Akena who has always humiliated Museveni’s friends and allies in the ballot box under Lira Municipality.
These include Cecilia Ogwal and later on the likes of Pollar Awich who Museveni consoled with a job at NRM Secretariat at Kyadondo; after he was politically humiliated by Jimmy Aken who has been area MP since 2006.
Even today after UPC repeatedly humiliating NRM at by-elections in Lango sub region, Etwop hasn’t yet considered publicly denouncing his political support and active backing for Jimmy Akena.
He is the son of Milton Obote who was a diehard hater of Museveni during his entire life until his death in 2005. He famously used to call him a bandit and refugee.
This was Milton Obote’s view and that never changed until his death in Zambian exile. Then deadlocked Jimmy Akena wasn’t only his son but also a personal assistant.
Even after engaging in some opportunistic deal-making in order to propagate his regime survival, while shielding Lango sub region against being captured by his opponents, deep inside his heart Museveni hasn’t forgotten the profound contempt members of the Obote household have had for him for decades.
One of the very hateful Obote family enablers, who served as Jimmy Akena’s walking stick for all these years included Joy Atim Ongom who, with diehard support of key influencers like Geoffrey Etwop, kept humiliating the mighty NRM and served as Lira Woman MP on the UPC ticket from 2011 to 2021 when she was finally overwhelmed and forced out of office.
Yet that isn’t all about Awitong Geoffrey Etwop’s role in the continued ability by the UPCs to edge out president Museveni’s loyalists.
Even after having his “Road to Damascus moment” and opportunistically embracing the ruling NRM and going on to become its district treasurer for Lira, Geoffrey Etwop in 2021 hurt Museveni’s overt political interests by acquiescing to the candidature of UPC’s Cedric Ebong Eyit who went on to become MP for Lira City West division MP seat.
This was to the political detriment of former NRA kadogo Capt Pollar Awich, president Museveni’s blue-eyed boy currently working as a director at the NRM secretariat in Kampala. His other key allies have over the years included Denomabor Okello Opio, the self importance-filled advisor based in Lira city’s Boroboro cell.
The very streetwise Geoffrey Etwop (who also heads Ober clan which is one of the more 150 making up the Woniach institution) was born and raised in Lira town.
The self-made businessman has several successful and potentially tax-struggling business entities to his name. And these include Tic Lokere Enterprises which does road construction deals from the GoU; Amulam Complex, Amulam Farmers Village, Amulam Pharmacy and Rhino Oil which runs petrol stations.
Those pushing for the presidential meeting for him believe that some of these business operations even qualify for tax incentives to reciprocate his contribution to Lango sub region. Such a meeting with the president can also potentially impress it on the taxman that such actors ought to be treated well because they even merit presidential audience.
Much as the taxman has lately been tough on all taxpayers, the URA boys ordinarily could think twice and tread more cautiously before straying into the business premises of someone so connected (to ask the hard questions).
That same interface would be an opportunity for the president to learn more about the other side of Awitong Geoffrey Etwop who naturally had his image and reputation bruised by the land-related criminal investigations the ruthless SHACU boys subjected him to.
Led by the incorruptible Gen Henry Isoke, SHACU had the clearance of the big man to inquire into all allocations of public land in what became Lira City by technocrats working under the old Lira Municipal Council arrangement.
However, state house protocol handlers have had reservations to acquiesce to such an interface with the president and their major point of concern is that the Ober clan Awitong isn’t NRM enough to merit such audience especially that the president is very busy, values and rationalizes his meeting time a lot these days.
It also ought to be stated that Geoffrey Etwop has been consistent in his support for his fellow Awitong Sam Engola regarding the Erute north MP race in Lira rural.
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