OPINION: When Power Pushes Out Service: Why Teso Will Miss Hellen Adoa

 February 2, 2026   |    11 views

By Francis Aleleu
Retired Teacher, Kasilo
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Sometimes elections remove leaders. Other times, they remove service. What happened to Hon. Hellen Adoa feels like the latter.

For the people of Serere District and the wider Teso region, Adoa was not just a Woman Member of Parliament. She was a constant presence in ordinary life. When a child lacked school fees, she helped. When a family lost a loved one, she stood with them. When a mother delivered, a school struggled, a church planned a conference, or youth needed encouragement through sports, Adoa contributed. Quietly. Consistently. Humanely.

Her service also extended deeply into health. Through regular health camps, thousands of mothers were saved from cervical cancer, many more treated for hepatitis and general illnesses—especially those who could not afford medical bills.

In communities where sickness often means silence and suffering, Adoa brought relief, dignity, and life.
Over 1,000 students passed through school because of her personal support. That number alone should pause any serious observer of public service.

So the question many in Teso are asking is simple: why did such a leader have to be fought with guns?
This region is still healing from the trauma of past insurgencies. The presence of armed forces does not inspire confidence; it awakens fear. Yet during this election, joint security forces were heavily deployed. Whispers became open talk.
Corridors carried stories of intimidation. Even soldiers, it is said, were uncomfortable—caught between orders and conscience.

Was Hon. Adoa a criminal? A rebel? A threat to national security? Or was she simply a strong, independent woman whose popularity frightened powerful interests?

When the state appears to marshal force against a sitting minister and a two-term MP known for service and humility, the damage goes beyond one election. It cuts into public trust.
Serere is the biggest district in Teso, with complex and constant needs. Adoa understood this. She responded not with slogans, but with action. She carried out barazas in sub-counties, creating space for accountability, explaining government programs directly to voters, and ensuring communities understood what was promised and what was delivered. She monitored government projects, questioned gaps, and demanded better.

Her impact was national as well. As the first minister to genuinely embrace fishermen as part of her constituency of service, Adoa moved from landing site to landing site across the country. She listened, sensitized, and acted—providing nets, engines, and life jackets to fishing communities, including those in Serere.

Through her leadership, a once-silent fisheries sector gained national attention and grew into the second-largest foreign exchange earner for the country.
She pushed for fisheries and infrastructure development budgets not just for Teso, but for Ugandans.

Her leadership crossed political lines, religious boundaries, and social divisions. She belonged to everyone.

Now a new Woman MP-elect has emerged—largely unknown to the people she is expected to serve. This is not her fault. But expectations will be heavy. The people will ask: can she fill the gap left behind? Can she match years of tested generosity, availability, and sacrifice?

Leadership is not announced; it is proven. Hon. Adoa proved hers daily.
Teso will feel her absence—not in headlines, but in small moments: a student sent home for fees, a family struggling to bury their dead, a school short of support, a mother in need of medical care, a fisherman without safety gear. These are the places where Adoa worked, far from cameras.

History will eventually ask the harder question: what does it say about our democracy when service is defeated by force? And what future are we building when mothers of the people are pushed aside, not by debate, but by fear?
For now, Teso mourns quietly. Not because Hon. Hellen Adoa lost, but because the region lost something rare—leadership rooted in care.