By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
Yesterday, H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni announced appointments of Permanent Secretaries to various ministries. The appointments have raised serious questions about regional inclusion and fairness in public service.
A review of the list suggests that the largest share went to the West, followed by Central and Eastern Uganda, while the greater Northern Uganda appears to have received only one or two positions. Lango Sub-region, with a population of more than 2.5 million people, has no representation. This is particularly troubling when, for close to a decade, the sub-region has had no Permanent Secretary serving in government. This has become a pattern not only now, but over a period of time, and in all areas including cabinet, Judiciary, employment in broader MDAs, the army, name them.
Why?.
The people of Northern Uganda have endured immense hardship over many decades. They have faced economic, political and social disadvantages, alongside persistent concerns about access to senior roles in public service. Yet the region is home to talented, qualified and experienced people who are ready to serve. Their continued absence from the highest levels of public administration demands an explanation.
A familiar response from the President is that appointments should be based on “substance,” not region or tribe. Competence must, of course, be central to public appointments. But competence and fair representation are not mutually exclusive. Uganda has qualified people in every region. The question is whether the search for “substance” is applied through a process that also takes constitutional commitments to inclusion seriously—or whether the language of merit is being used to overlook persistent imbalances.
The making of the 1995 Constitution involved listening to Ugandans through the Constitutional Commission chaired by Justice Benjamin Odoki. The Constitution’s preamble recognises the country’s history and the need to build a united nation. Its provisions also establish important principles concerning equality, non-discrimination, affirmative action, equal opportunities, gender balance and the protection of ethnic minorities. These are not reasons to abandon merit. They are reminders that fairness requires attention to the barriers and historical imbalances that can prevent qualified people from having a genuine opportunity to serve.
Reports by the Equal Opportunities Commission have also raised concerns about marginalisation and unequal development, including in Northern Uganda. Concerns have been reported across sectors—from infrastructure and access to services to representation in public institutions. If these findings are acknowledged, the question is unavoidable: why do appointment patterns continue to give so little reason for people in the North to believe that inclusion is being addressed?
Sometimes one cannot help but ask whether this continuing exclusion is a form of political punishment. Since 2011, some of us made a deliberate decision to support H.E. President Museveni and help shift the political narrative in our communities. The NRM now boasts of strong support in Northern Uganda. So why, at a time when the party claims such support, do the region’s people continue to raise concerns about exclusion from senior public appointments and other areas of national life?
This is not simply about counting positions or demanding appointments for their own sake. It is about whether every part of Uganda is treated as belonging equally to the nation. When appointments repeatedly fail to reflect the country’s diversity, citizens may reasonably question whether access to public service is truly fair.
Representation matters because it strengthens the legitimacy of public institutions. People are more likely to trust government when they see that their communities have a fair opportunity to contribute. Diverse representation can also bring different experiences and knowledge into decision-making, helping government better understand the needs of all citizens. And where historical disadvantage has been documented, ignoring it does not make it disappear; it risks entrenching it.
Equal representation does not necessarily mean that every region or group must receive exactly the same number of appointments. Nor should identity replace qualifications. It means that appointments should be made through transparent, lawful criteria that take account of competence while also addressing persistent exclusion and ensuring equal opportunity. If the process is fair, the government should be able to explain how it is fair—and show how the country’s constitutional principles are reflected in practice.
When politics becomes a tool of subjugation, punishment or exclusion, it weakens the bond between citizens and the state. People who feel unheard may seek to assert their rights in different ways. Government should not wait for frustration to deepen. It should listen, explain its decisions and take credible steps to ensure that public appointments and national development are inclusive.
The question is not whether the President has the authority to make appointments. The question is whether that authority is exercised in a way that honours the Constitution and reflects the diversity of Uganda. A list that leaves an entire sub-region,particularly one with a population of more than 2.5 million,without representation deserves public scrutiny and a clear answer.
Northern Uganda is not asking for charity. It is asking for fairness, recognition and equal citizenship. Its people have contributed to this country and continue to do so.They deserve a genuine opportunity to serve at the highest levels of government, on the basis of their qualifications and without being repeatedly overlooked because of where they come from.
The President and relevant appointing authorities should make the appointment process more transparent, explain how regional balance and equal opportunity are considered, and ensure that future appointments do not reproduce the same patterns. National unity cannot be built by asking some communities to accept permanent absence from public life. It is built when every region knows it has a fair place in the institutions that govern the country.
