Acholi Paramount Chief David Onen Acana II. Photos by Brian Komakech
By Brian Komakech
Gulu: A section of leaders and elders from the Acholi Sub-region have requested the government to withhold the newly proposed monthly remunerations to Ker Kwaro Acholi until conflicts between warring chiefs are resolved.
The request is part of six resolutions drawn by a 15-man negotiation committee over the weekend in Gulu City.
The elders claimed that the resolutions were drawn following failure by Paramount Chief of Acholi, Rwot David Onen Acana II, to grant them audience to mediate over the stalemate at the cultural institution.
In July 2023, a power rift broke out at the Acholi Cultural Institution, after Rwot Santo Apire, the chief of Atiak Chiefdom, colluded with a section of chiefs demanding the resignation of Acana II from office over alleged corruption, abuse of office, registration of the cultural institution as a business entity, and lack of a working constitution.
To solve the conflict, a committee chaired by former Chua County Legislator, John Livingstone Okello Okello was formed, with three main objectives; to de-escalate the conflict, establish the causes, and prepare the ground for dialogue between the feuding chiefs.
Okello-Okello, however, told journalists Monday in Gulu City that while the negotiation team was able to meet with the faction of Rwot Richard Santo Apire, several attempts to meet with Acana failed.
He said the negotiation committee over the weekend came out with some resolutions appealing to the government not to send emoluments to the cultural institution, because it is still embroiled in a power-conflict.
“We are saying that in Acholi, there is conflict, so no emolument until the conflict is resolved because the money being released is tax payer’s money and you can’t release tax payer’s money to fuel conflict,” said Okello-Okello.
The cultural institution head gets a monthly payment of shs5m from the government to help in the execution of duties at the institution.
However, last week, the Parliament approved President Museveni’s directive to pay the cultural leaders shs60m monthly.
Rosalba Oywa, a retired teacher and opinion leader in Gulu City, noted that from their understanding, the emolument being sent by the government is being used at a personal level which has fueled conflict.
Oywa said disbursement of more funds when the institution is unstable will escalate the conflict and cause more.
“According to our understanding, the emolument being given to cultural leaders is for a cultural institution not for a person. Why there is a conflict in the first place is the fact that this money is being used for personal level and helping the cultural institution,” said Oywa.
Joshua Kyalimpa, the Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development told GNNA on Tuesday in an interview that the resolution by the elders is an opinion the Ministry can’t implement arguing that such complaints aren’t new.
Follow due process
Kyalimpa, however, said the Ministry can only act on behalf of the government if the conflicts between the chiefs become a legal matter, where an injunction is issued by the court instructing the government not to pay the current paramount chief.
“For the resolution to be acted on by the government, it has to take due process. If those conflicts become a legal matter and are arbitrated by the court where an injunction is issued to the effect that the money cannot be released to the incumbent Paramount Chief the minister can act,” said Kyalimpa.
According to Kyalimpa, cultural leaders will start earning shs 60m passed by the Parliament once the money is reflected in the budget for the financial year 2024/25.
He called on the various stakeholders within cultural institutions across the country to find amicable ways of solving grievances because fighting further weakens institutions still under development.
Other resolutions the elders came up with include the need to institute an inclusive process that will lead to the formulation of a legitimate constitution to govern the cultural institution.
At the height of the power rift between rival chiefs in 2023, the faction led by Rwot Richard Santo Apire, after allegedly making consultations with the executive council of chiefs released a draft constitution for the Acholi Cultural Institution in November 2023.
The draft constitution seen by GNNA contains 28 articles that are intended to be adopted as a legitimate document to guide the operation of the Acholi Cultural institution.
Retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Galdino Okello, however, said the constitution can’t be relied on since only one party drafted it, adding that a legitimate constitution needs to be formulated after conflicts have been resolved.
“What is important is the need to get the two parties together. Since they are together, they will all look at the constitution and agree on which to go by,” said Justice Okello.
The elders also over the weekend resolved that the current title of Lawirwodi (Paramount chief) being used is illegal alleging that it had already been expunged by the Acholi District Council in 1961 and replaced by Laloyo Maber (a good leader).
Okello Okuna, the Acting Acholi Cultural Institution Prime Minister, however, said that the resolution is biased and doesn’t in any way represent a move towards resolving the alleged conflicts.
We didn’t agree on mediators
Okuna noted that while the elders accused the Paramount Chief of failing to honor their request for a meeting, the cultural institution observed that the choice of negotiators was biased.
“When there is mediation happening, the two warring parties must agree on the choice of a mediator. In the event you are not comfortable with the person, or the team mediating, it becomes impossible to move on with the negotiation,” said Okuna.
Okuna also dismissed allegations that the cultural institution mismanaged resources arguing that the elders are peddling lies to tarnish the image of the Paramount Chief.
Rwot Acana was enthroned on January 15, 2005 as the 24th traditional leader of Acholi, replacing his father Rwot Godfrey Erecenia Acana who died in October 1999.
Acana works through the executive council of chiefs composed of 25 members and 58 council of chiefs from the 58 chiefdoms in the Acholi Sub-region, as a cultural head of the Acholi Chiefdom.
