Former Aruu County MP Samuel Odonga-Otto has taken legal action against the current MP, Christopher Komakech, accusing him of defamation over claims that he mismanaged six billion shillings meant for the East Acholi Cooperative Union Ltd (EACUL).
The dispute broke out after Komakech, while campaigning in Pagwari Village, Acoro Parish in Pader Town Council on 11th November 2025, told residents that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni had released money for the cooperative, but that Odonga-Otto had allegedly embezzled it. The remarks have since stirred tension between the two long-time political rivals.
Odonga-Otto firmly denied the allegations, calling them false, malicious, and deliberately intended to mislead voters. He explained that the money paid was only 1,033 billion shillings and not 6 billion shillings as he claimed. He added that the entire compensation process for EACUL was supervised by a High Court order issued on 13th November 2020 by Lady Justice Esta Nambayo.
According to him, the court directed that all compensation funds be deposited directly into EACUL’s Stanbic Bank account at the Kitgum branch. The same order required the bank to automatically transfer 30 percent of each installment to Odonga-Otto & Co. Advocates as legal fees upon agreement with EACPU, following the legal guidelines on advocate remuneration.
He stressed that he never handled the cooperative’s funds personally, adding that all transfers were carried out by the bank understanding instructions filed with the court. Odonga-Otto noted that the legal fees were shared among the team of lawyers who worked on the case for three years. “If I had done anything wrong, I would have been arrested,” he said, dismissing Komakech’s statements as nothing more than a political gimmick.
Komakech, who is running under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, had told voters that aligning themselves with the ruling party would help them access development opportunities. He repeated his claim that the cooperative funds were misused, a statement Odonga-Otto’s lawyers argue has damaged their professional reputation.
Odonga-Otto & Co. Advocates say they possess an audio recording of Komakech making the remarks and have already issued a notice of intention to sue unless he retracts his statements. Attempts to reach Komakech for a response were unsuccessful. However, one of his campaign managers, who preferred anonymity, said they only heard about the letter from social media and insisted they were ready for “more letters” from Odonga-Otto’s camp.
This is not the first time the two politicians have faced off in court. In 2021, Odonga-Otto challenged Komakech’s election victory, arguing that he had not properly resigned from his job as a nurse at Butabika Hospital. Justice Asiimwe ruled that Komakech had addressed his resignation letter to the wrong authority, making it invalid, and ordered fresh elections.
However, the judge declined to declare Odonga-Otto the winner or award him costs. Despite the ruling, Komakech went on to win the January 14th parliamentary election with 9,796 votes against Odonga-Otto’s 6,199.
The East Acholi Cooperative Union Ltd, founded in 1951 and operating in four districts, has been struggling with major governance and financial management problems, according to an inquiry report. The union’s assets and business collapsed during the 1978–1986 liberation war, leading to a compensation claim of Shs5.42 billion, of which Shs1.62 billion was paid by MTIC.
In 2024, the defunct union Chairperson Hellen Aceng told investigators that MTIC officials compelled the union to hire M/S Odonga Otto & Co. Advocates for the compensation process, and when she objected, the firm sued the union, resulting in a forced consent judgment.
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