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| Proscovia Oromait |
Proscovia Oromait, who is 19 and a college hopeful,
contested elections deep in eastern Uganda
to fill the seat left vacant by her father's death. President Yoweri Museveni's ruling party had
been desperate for a win there, having lost seven in eight parliamentary
by-elections this year. The polls have come to be widely seen as a test of
Museveni's popularity, and some party bosses calculated that she would win with
a sympathy vote. The result was Uganda's youngest lawmaker ever — and a boost for Museveni's
party.
Michael Mukula, one of the
ruling party's deputy chairmen said "I am a bit concerned and taken aback
because of her lack of experience and lack of exposure," Mukula said of
Oromait. "This is not a constituency you want to give a child of that age
to shoulder."
Nicholas Opio, a Kampala-based political analyst, refers the choice of Oromait to contest the
election as a desparate attempt of the ruling party to win after a string of
losses. He said "She is a victim of these circumstances, I don't think she
was prepared for this. She had even never voted. She will be at home in the
House in the sense that not much is required of her."
Mwambutsya Ndebesa, a professor of political history
at Uganda's Makerere University, said she could turn out to be a much more
inspirational figure than some of her older counterparts.
She may not have any ideas yet," said Ndebesa,
"but she has the ability to learn."
Whatever, the victory of this inexperienced young girl
should be a food for thought for all those corrupt and selfish politicians. The
for a change in Ugandan politics is now.
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