By Reuben Olita, Busia
Is Teso North MP Dr. Oku Kaunya planning to orchestrate a cultural coup against the Iteso leader, His Highness Emorimor Paul Sande Emolot?
That is the question causing tension in Teso North after a section of local leaders strongly opposed a planned move to install Kaunya as the Iteso community’s spokesperson.
Addressing the press in Malaba, the leaders said only King Emorimor is recognized as the cultural head and unifying voice of the Iteso.
They accused Kaunya of overstepping his political mandate and warned that the move could divide a community long bound by cultural structures.
.Those opposing the move included MCAs Gardy Jakaa (Bukhayo North/Walatsi), Isaac Wamalwa (Angurai North), and Patrick Omanyala (Malaba North).
Omanyala said Kaunya should focus on his mandate as an MP. “Oku should stop dividing the community and instead address bursary challenges affecting students,” he said, adding that 35 households in his ward had been displaced by heavy rains. “Instead of talking to the people, he is busy planning for his installation.”
He accused the MP of attempting a “cultural coup” against Emorimor, who is currently in South Africa. “Culture has structures. We wonder where Kaunya invented this idea. We don’t need another spokesman other than Emorimor,” he added.
Jakaa termed the planned installation “a scandal in Teso,” questioning the process used to select Kaunya. “We only recognize Emorimor and his deputy Fredrick Adung’o. The MP already has a platform to defend the community,” he said.
Wamalwa echoed the opposition, warning that Kaunya’s move could divide the community. “If he wants to become spokesperson, then he should resign as MP,” he said.
Retired Senior Chief Livingstone Omasete, Deputy Secretary of the Iteso Council of Elders, said cultural matters should remain free of politics. “The Teso cultural framework is clear—from the clan chairman to the King. The only spokesperson is Emorimor Sande Emolot,” he stated.
Other leaders, including Ichasi Imwene, a 2027 Teso North MP aspirant, and Arthur Amug Osiya, a Busia gubernatorial hopeful, also rejected the plan. Osiya stressed that cultural leadership lies solely with Emorimor. “Hon. Oku Kaunya is not the spokesperson of the Iteso people. His role is political, not cultural,” he said.
Malaba Central MCA aspirant Gerald Okima added: “The kingship of the Iteso is non-political and non-partisan. Let the King remain our only spokesperson.”
