Agency
Chief Justice Alfonse Chigamoi Owiny-Dollo and former Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) Party President Dr Olara Otunnu have proposed the formation of a committee of elders to reconcile the rival faction of Acholi chiefs.
Both Justice Owiny-Dollo and Otunnu fronted the proposals over the weekend during the second edition of Gure Me Pongdwongo (the convocation of Pongdwongo) held in Amuru district.
A section of people during the meeting stressed the need for mediation among the rivalling traditional leaders for the success of the Acholi Revival movement initiative launched by both Otunu and Justice Owiny-Dollo.
Since June 2023, the Acholi Cultural Institution has been embroiled in clashes following an attempted ouster of the Paramount Chief David Onen Acana II by his nemesis Rwot Richard Santo Apire, of Atiak Chiefdom.
Apire broke away from the Acholi Cultural Institution with a section of traditional chiefs and has since been imposing himself as the new Acholi Paramount Chief after an illegitimate election in June this year.
While addressing the hundreds of Acholi Communities who turned up for the gathering over the weekend, Justice Owiny-Dollo called on religious leaders and the elders in Acholi to establish a committee that will address the disputes of the warring chiefs.
He noted that it is visible there is a problem among the chiefs that has left them divided but can be resolved with the initiative of the elders in Acholi.
Justice Owiny-Dollo noted that while there are concerns and calls that impasses among the warring chiefs should be resolved, the process can’t halt the implementation of the Acholi revival movement whose ultimate objective is to rescue the Acholi community already engulfed in ‘flames’.
Dr Otunnu however notes that the Acholi revival movement has no interest in escalating the tension among the rival chiefs but rather is looking for ways of ensuring their disputes are resolved through the intervention of elders.
Since the bitter split of Rwot Acana and Rwot Apire, several mediation efforts instituted by a section of elders led by former legislator Livingstone Okello Okello, Acholi Parliamentary Group leaders, and religious leaders led by Archbishop Emeritus John Baptist Odama failed.
Rwot Acana in particular accused the mediators especially Livingstone OKello Okello of taking sides and having a conflict of interest while Rwot Apire on the other hand accused religious leaders of bias.
