FORMER MINISTER BAKOKO TO VIE FOR AYIVU EAST MP SEAT

Hon. Zoe Bakoko Bakoru speaking during her declaration of interest
 
By Godwin Abedican
Arua
 
Hon. Zoe Bakoko Bakoru, the former Minister for Gender, Labor and Social Development has officially declared her interest to contest as the Member of Parliament for Ayivu constituency East in Arua city.
 
Bakoko who returned from the U.S. in August last year after around 15 years of self-exile had been staying at Gen Salim Saleh’s residence in Gulu before making her mega return to Arua on Sunday, April 13, 2025.
 
Since her return to West Nile, particularly Arua, her political interest has been highly anticipated and a lot of allegation of her contesting moved the region and country, before finally she came out to openly declared her interest on Saturday June 7, 2025.
 
According to her, she came at the interest of the people of Ayivu something she didn’t want to underlook.
 
“I took a long time to reflect because I know there are already people who have shown their interest to lead. I have been in parliament before. I understand what it means to be a member of parliament. At this time, I would have rested and be there to guide and advise, but when I came back many people came to me and asked me to go back to parliament and represent the people of Ayivu. I knew politics has changed but government commitment to serve the people has never changed in terms of development. I traveled the region and eventually I zeroed on Ayivu East,” she confirmed in a statement.

Bakoko says, a lot has deteriorated from her time of service as the woman Member of Parliament and Member of Parliament which she wants to redeem.
 
“What hurt me most as nurse, as a midwife was that, as someone who developed the health care system in this entire greater Arua, when we returned from exile, there were only 13 functional health units and I worked hard to increase it to 66 units in five years with other medical staff, but to imagine that 15 or 20 years later, a health center like Riki is in a worse situation than I left. By now it should have been a health center IV level with a doctor and a full referral project or program. I felt like somebody drew a knife through my heart because this is my area which took me to parliament,”
 
“I looked at the roads as you drive from Oluko to Riki, I looked at the schools that the government has given, I looked at the water system where some people will have to get piped water from Terego to Arua city. Then my mind wondered where our leaders are. The roles of the MP are clear; lobbying and allocating in all areas, am not saying that they should have carried the services but they had the roles of lobbying,” she said during the declaration.
 
Hon. Ayiko Joel, the Speaker Ayivu Division Council also the chairperson for Bakoko’s campaign says the division has been left behind due to por leadership.
 
“Ayivu division is facing a lot of challenges. If it had happened that Ayivu division had leaders who were picking information from the council and moving with to the parliament, table on the floor if parliament, take to the ministries, knock doors if the donors, we would be very far by now,”
 
“Currently some elected leaders even de-campaign tax collection by the council, some are disorganizing the administrative units created like the city. If we had leaders who could unite and give transition funds by now, we would have been better. I have pulled my keg out to say that, I accept her candidature knowing that she has a previous record of being a good leader and that is why I support her,” he said.
 
Senior Florence, the female councilor for Bunyo and Nyio to Ayivu division asserts that, this declaration by Bakoko is an inspiration to other women.
 
“I look at her as an icon of West Nile, I see her as a peace maker who can unite people. I also see her as somebody who is developmental. I started hearing about Bakoko being a Minister when I was still a young girl in primary school and when she left, since that time, we have never had a Minister from West Nile. We are going to mobilize votes for her because I see her as somebody who can bring developments to West Nile and lobby for us. We have had disunity among ourselves especially the people of Ayivu, something I do believe she can help to fight by uniting us,” Florence said during an interview.
 
A nurse by profession, Bakoko first worked at Yumbe and Arua Hospital before joining politics where she became the Woman Member of Parliament for the then Arua district which included the current districts of Maracha, Terego, Yumbe, Koboko, Madi-Okollo and Arua from 1996 to 2001 and later represented Ayivu County from 2001 to 2006 as the member of parliament where she was appointed as a minister