Minister Kasolo asks for ceasefire, peace with Kyotera District leaders

Kyotera, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The State Minister for Microfinance Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo has sought reconciliation with the leadership of Kyotera district, after a period of bitter misunderstandings from the last general elections.

Kasolo has preferred to begin reaching out to leaders and communities with whom he has not been seeing eye-to-eye following his loss for Kyotera County Member of Parliament seat in the 2021 elections.

In the last term of office, Kasolo fell out with the majority of Kyotera district leaders who accused him of highhandedness, using his office to suppress the leadership and manipulating councils to serve his interests.

The Kyotera LCV Chairperson Patrick Kintu Kisekulo mobilized lower local government leaders and communities against Kasolo, accusing him of selfishness and being disruptive to the district’s plans for progress, which required multi-stakeholder coordination.

Kasolo is now seeking harmony with his adversaries and reconsidered his decision to contest for the Kyotera County MP seat in the next election.

Following his loss in Kyotera constituency, he shifted political interest to Bukoto Central constituency in Masaka district where he has since heavily invested in the quest to build political capital.

In his address to what he described as a reunion meeting at Kasambya playground in Kyotera town council, Kasolo publicly apologized for the past mistakes, acknowledging that the misunderstandings were a bottleneck to the district’s development.

He says that is going to reach out to all stakeholders in the area appealing to them to bury their hatchet, such that they build cohesion for the general good of the district.

Kasolo noted that he has realized that despite being a Minister, there was nothing much he would singlehandedly achieve for the district, hence the need to lead a reconciliation with all stakeholders.

Yuda Walukaga, an opinion leader in Kyotera town council observes the reconciliation of the adversaries as a good beginning on the journey to develop the district through collective efforts.

According to Walukaga, besides the individual leaders, the misunderstandings had also weakened the National Resistance Movement-NRM party in Kyotera because it the membership was also split in warring camps, to the advantage of the opposition.

John Mawanda and Moses Waliggo, a resident of Kyotera town council have challenged Minister Kasolo to walk his talk of reconciliation as well as reform his bossy conduct that led him on a collision path with his colleagues.

Mawanda challenges Kasolo to reawaken the government projects whose progress he allegedly frustrated after he lost the parliamentary seat for Kyotera County.

Patrick Kintu Kisekulo, the Kyotera LCV Chairperson observes that Kasolo has not yet personally reached out to him for reconciliation, but he is ready to work with anyone who aspires to develop the area.

According to Kintu, the fallout was largely caused by the failure to give recognition to leaders who were trusted by people’s mandate, adding that there was no way they could allow undue suppression of their authority.

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