Unity, strategy are secret to plum State positions, Iteso king tells community

Iteso Cultural leader Emormor Paul Sande Emolot arriving for the burial service of Mzee Mark Adung'o at Ngelechom Comprehensive School in Chakol North ward./HILTON OTENYO

Iteso cultural leader, Emormor (King) Sande Emolot said a united community can easily raise its profile. He said the Iteso members have already made significant political gains in Uganda since they abandoned opposition politics.

Speaking during the burial of Iteso Cultural Union commissioner Papa Mark Adung’o, 84, in Ngelechom village, Chakol North Ward, Busia County,

He said the unity has helped raise the community’s profile in national leadership with key national positions.

“Out of our unity, we have a vice president, Jessica Alupo, in President Yoweri Museveni’s government. She crosses to Kenya often and is a big inspiration to the Iteso community living here,” Emolot said.

He was in Busia county during the burial of Iteso Cultural Union commissioner Papa Mark Adung’o, 84, in Ngelechom village within Chakol North ward.

Emolot said the Iteso community has few members who were for a very long time in the opposition ranks, even taking up arms in the bush before joining government.

"We are few; thus the need to unite and avoid scrambling for the same positions during elections. When we compete against each other, we lose out as a community,” he said.

Emolot cited the recent general elections in Uganda, where two Iteso candidates contested for the same parliamentary seat and both lost.

“The outcome of these elections is a wake-up call to my subjects in Kenya. We must remain united, strategic, and speak with one voice,” he added.

He also expressed concern over the diminishing use of the Iteso language among community members, noting a worrying trend where English and Swahili are preferred.

“You can be a Teso without knowing Ateso. We took five people from Uganda to Makerere University to learn Ateso. We must expand its use. I urge the Kenyan government to start teaching Ateso in primary schools and universities,” he said.

The Iteso community straddles the Kenya-Uganda border. In Uganda, it occupies ten districts in the Teso sub-region, including Soroti, Kumi, Amuria, and Katakwi, with Soroti City treated as a separate local government unit.

In Kenya, the Iteso reside in Teso North and Teso South constituencies in Busia county, represented in Parliament by Oku Kaunya and Mary Emase. The community also has one-woman representative.

Emolot emphasised that working together will enable the Iteso to contribute meaningfully to national development.

He called on the community to organise themselves better and leverage their numbers to avoid internal divisions that weaken their influence.

The late Adung’o was the father-in-law of former Busia Deputy Governor Kizito Wangalwa and had close ties to county leadership, including retired Governor Sospeter Ojaamong and Daniel Mogoria, County Chief Officer for Education and Vocational Training.