Thousands of residents of West Budama North East Constituency on Saturday gathered at Paya Primary School playground in Tororo District to celebrate with their Member of Parliament, Richard Owere Machika, during a thanksgiving ceremony following his victory in the recently concluded general elections.
The event attracted an unprecedented gathering of political, religious and cultural leaders, with nearly all Members of Parliament from the Bukedi sub-region in attendance. It was presided over by the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Jacob Markson Oboth-Oboth, in what many described as a rare show of political unity in Tororo District.
Beyond celebrating Machika's election victory, the ceremony also served as a platform to launch two key community initiatives aimed at improving healthcare and education in the constituency.
Machika unveiled a newly acquired ambulance to strengthen emergency medical services, while more than Shs100 million was raised to support education programmes in a constituency that has consistently recorded poor academic performance.
State Minister for Works Julius Maganda urged residents to have realistic expectations of Members of Parliament, emphasizing that legislators are constitutionally mandated to make laws, represent citizens and provide oversight rather than directly deliver services.
"Sometimes what people expect from Members of Parliament is beyond their constitutional mandate. When those expectations are not met, voters become disappointed, only to regret their decisions later," Maganda said.
The gathering, regarded as the first major political function in recent years to bring together leaders from across Tororo's political divide, earned Machika praise for promoting cooperation within a short time in office. Leaders pledged to maintain the spirit of unity throughout their five-year term.
Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Sanjay Tanna said leaders had resolved to put development ahead of political rivalry.
"This time we are not going to fight each other. We are going to use the positions entrusted to us to deliver services to our people. We thank the Speaker for providing wise leadership," Tanna said.
Speaker Jacob Oboth-Oboth said Tororo's development had for years been slowed by political divisions and urged leaders to embrace a new chapter of collaboration.
"This is a good beginning of a new five-year chapter. We look forward to working together for the benefit of our people. No more fighting," the Speaker said.
Machika said proceeds from the education fundraiser would be used to finance school feeding programmes, provide scholarships for vulnerable learners and supply scholastic materials to improve educational outcomes in the constituency.
"We are targeting school feeding, scholarships for needy students who cannot afford education because of poverty, and providing learning materials for our learners," Machika said.
State Minister for Public Service Lydia Wanyoto described the investments in healthcare and education as transformative, noting that the two sectors are essential to improving productivity and accelerating community development.
The event concluded with renewed commitments from political leaders to work together in addressing Tororo District's long-standing development challenges, signaling what many hope will be a new era of unity, cooperation and improved service delivery.
