ARUA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | Preparations are underway in Arua to welcome former Member of Parliament for Arua District and Ayivu County, as well as former Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Zoe Bakoko Bakoru, back home after more than 15 years of self-exile in the United States.

Bakoko returned to Uganda in August 2024 but has since been residing and working in the office of Gen. Salim Saleh in Gulu, without stepping foot in West Nile or her hometown of Arua City.

A nurse by profession, Bakoko first worked at Yumbe Hospital before serving as District Nurse at Arua Hospital. She later transitioned into politics, becoming the Woman Member of Parliament for Arua from 1996 to 2001. She went on to defeat then MP Dick Nyai to represent Ayivu County from 2001 to 2006.

During her tenure, she was appointed Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development. In 2007, she fled the country and sought asylum in the US, citing threats to her life. Bakoko is expected to make her first public appearance in West Nile at the commemoration of 22 years of peace in the region, to be held in Yumbe District on April 12. President Museveni, who will preside over the event, is expected to recognize her efforts in pacifying the region during the West Nile Bank Front and Uganda National Rescue Front II rebellions.