Prime
Ateker elders petition VP Alupo over unity, development
Retired army officer and now Vice President Ms Jesica Alupo interacts with a security operative after she'd arrived at Parliament on June 14. PHOTO/ALEX ESAGALA
A group of elders under Ateker cluster have asked the recently appointed vice president Maj Jessica Alupo to unite them and also lobby for development projects that can lift the lives of Ateker people and Ugandans at general.
Darlington Emanikor, an elder of Ateker and a resident of Namoruputh in Loima district in Turkana county said President Museveni’s decision to appoint one of Ateker ‘daughters’ as vice president means a lot for the cluster.
“When we heard all over the news that one of the daughters of Ateker, Jessica Alupo has been appointed as vice president of Uganda, I received a lot of joy in my heart because it’s the first time in history for the Ateker to be appointed in such an office,” he said.
The term Ateker is a generic term for related people or relatives (the term also refers to clan).
The clans that form Ateker cluster include Jie, Karamojong and Iteso of Uganda and Kenya, Turkana of Kenya, Toposa of South Sudan, Nyangatom of Ethiopia and Teso people and
their languages.
Mr Joseph Okwalinga another elder from Abarilela Sub County in Soroti District in Teso sub region described the appointment of Ms Alupo as a turning point of development in Uganda’s north eastern region.
“What I would request now the leaders of Teso is to work closely with her in helping her to identify development gaps so that they can move as a team,” he said.
Mr Mark Lomuria, another elder under Ateker and a resident of Lolachat Sub County in Nabilatuk District also hailed Mr Museveni for the appointment.
