Tororo proposed division needs a lesson from King Solomon

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By Frank Obonyo

The proposed division of Eastern Uganda’s Tororo District into the three administrative units of Mulanda district, Mukujju district and Tororo City reminds me of the King Solomon Biblical tale in the book of 1 Kings.

The 1 Kings 3:16-28 story tells of two women embroiled in a heartbreaking dispute. They came to the King with two babies – one alive and one dead.

One woman told King Solomon: “This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone, there was no one in the house but two of us. During the night, this woman’s son died because she lay on him. So, she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son and he was dead. I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it was not mine.”

The other woman also said: “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.” Each of them claimed to be the mother of the living baby. Solomon, known for his wisdom, proposed to split the baby in half, and the true mother, prioritising the baby’s life, begged that the child be given to the other woman. This revealed the true mother and Solomon gave her custody of the baby.

This story is applicable to the current debate and proposed split of Tororo District but before I get there, I would like to correct the misnaming of the Jopadhola, which refers to the Adhola people who live primarily in Tororo and make up about eight percent of Uganda’s population. New Vision referred to the Jopadhola as Japadhola. In the 1995 Constitution, the Jopadhola are the people, Japadhola is singular. The tribe is called Jopadhola, not Badama or Japadhola as it has been being wrongly reported.

The proposal of elevating Tororo Municipality to a city status is welcome because this will improve service delivery. However, whenever we are close to an election period, the rumble about the division of Tororo is heard and heard loudest by politicians. They take advantage of the sensitive political season to win support by advocating for the identity of their respective communities.

One of the reasons that our leaders give for the split of the district is hostility among the Jopadhola and Iteso. This alleged hostility is a brainchild of our leaders and not a reality among the local people.  The two communities have lived harmoniously with each other from time immemorial. Just like in other areas of Uganda, there were inter-tribal wars during the early days of migration and settlement. This is quite normal because that is how our forefathers settled in places that we now call homes. However, this conflict remained like legends or stories.

We have a lot in common that we share as two communities that live in the same district. We share the same social services, water sources, places of worship, hospitals, markets and social events. We use the same means of transport and intermarriage has taken place among the two tribes.

I, for example, have a number of relatives who have intermarried. My maternal grandmother was born in Atir village, which is located in the proposed Mukujju District, a predominantly Iteso area. My brother’s wife comes from Kwapa village, which is also Iteso. I studied in Tororo District for my O level, and this means I have a number of former classmates who are Iteso. We can still co-exist, maintain our respective cultural identity, clan structures, and language without the division because this is how we have lived for a long time. 

The reasons that our leaders give could be more self-centred and for political reasons.

I do not understand why our leaders proposed that Mulanda should be the district for Jopadhola yet Kisoko was the original county headquarters of West Budama from colonial days. I hope they did not make such a hasty decision because Mulanda has produced “prominent” politicians in former governments and the current regime.

Lastly, the issue of splitting Tororo will be a burden on the taxpayer. It means that the government will have more three LCV Chairpersons, Chief Administrative Officers, Community Development Officers, Members of Parliament, etc.

Among the questions are these:

▪️Do we really need all these additional burdens on the taxpayers? We do not have enough personnel for essential services like health, education and agriculture, etc.

▪️Why don’t our leaders advocate for more teachers and doctors as opposed to adding more members of Parliament and local leaders?

▪️Have the living conditions of people in areas where districts have been spilt improved?

I suggest that the government applies the wisdom from the King Solomon story before they split Tororo.

The writer is a Communication and Public Relations Practitioner.