Museveni hails former Acholi deputy paramount Chief Lugai

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has hailed the fallen former Deputy Paramount Chief of Acholi George William Lugai.

In a brief message read to mourners by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah on Friday, Museveni said he knew Lugai as a mediator who worked hard for peace in Northern Uganda.

The president apologized for not attending Lugai’s funeral because of his Wealth Creation Tour in Kisoro District. He offered a condolence of 10 million Shillings to help the bereaved family.

Lugai, 93 passed on last month after a battle with pneumonia and prostate cancer at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital.

He was laid to rest on Friday afternoon at his ancestral home in Lacani Village, Pajule Town Council, Pader District.

Thousands of mourners bed farewell to the former cultural leader. Many leaders who spoke at Lugai’s funeral eulogized him as a leader who was honest, stood for unity and peace in Northern Uganda.

The Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo told mourners that he interacted a lot with the deceased on the degrading cultural norms of Acholi and always sought for his advice.

He cited the current high bride prices and compensation for death, a matter he consistently kept seeking for advice from the late chief.

Justice Owiny-Dollo says Lugai was an honest man whose testimony at one time helped to win a court case in which he was the defense lawyer. He says disappearance of such personality will leave a big gap in Acholi.

The leader of Opposition in Parliament Betty Aol Ocan says she knew Lugai during the Juba Peace talks and worked along with him to bring peace in the region. She says the deceased was calm and soft spoken and above all emphasized on education of children adding that it enabled him to send most of his children to school.

Northern Uganda State Minister Grace Freedom Kwiyucwiny says she will remember the late Lugai because of his records of being a man of respect and wisdom.

Lugai was coronated as the 10th Chief of Pajule clan in 2000 and later elected as the First Deputy Paramount Chief of Acholi in 2001.

In the 2000’s Rwot Lugai was among the many Ugandans who persistently fought to ensure peace prevails in Northern Uganda at the height of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel led insurgency.

He was often included among delegates who participated at the peace talks such as Nairobi/ Kenya Peace Talk, Juba peace talk in South Sudan and in Garamba in the democratic Republic of Congo.

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