CABINET OUST AGOFE, REMOVES AYIVU FROM LUGBARA

Yuma Amuku Manase, the constitutionally elected Agofe, spoke briefly from his car after the cabinet meeting.
 
 By Dramadri Federick
Arua City
 
The cabinet of the Lugbara Kari, the cultural organization that unites the four Lugbara speaking clans of Vurra, Terego, Maracha, and Ayivu, today resolved to oust the Paramount Chief and to remove Ayivu from the Lugbara tribe.
 
This decision was made during a more than three-hour indoor meeting convened by the Prime Minister of Lugbara Kari, Rt. Hon. Ismail Tuku, at Arua Social Centre, where the offices of Lugbara Kari are located.
 
According to the meeting's resolutions, His Highness Yuma Amuku Manase, the elected Agofe, is to cease being the Agofe of the Lugbara Kari.
 
Instead, the County Chief of Maracha, Angello Pati, is to assume the mantle of the chiefdom.

Some executive members present at the meeting revealed that, while journalists were asked to leave the premises, the Prime Minister disclosed that, with guidance from the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development, they will no longer recognize the Ayivu clan as part of the Lugbara-speaking tribes within the chiefdom.
 
This decision followed petitions from the political leadership of Ayivu seeking non-gazzettement of Lugbara Kari as a recognized tribe in Uganda.
 
Under the 2011 Lugbara Kari Constitution, which was endorsed by Jason Avutia III, the then Agofe of Lugbara Kari to serve as the supreme leadership document, any person aspiring to be the Paramount Chief of the Lugbara people must be elected from among the four clan chiefs of Ayivu, Maracha, Terego, and Vurra.
 
This is on the condition that the incumbent is deceased, ill, or has consented to be replaced. Recently, however, the leadership of the Kari amended this constitution on 28th April 2024, now stipulating that an Agofe must serve for five years, contrary to traditional cultural rules which do not specify such term limits.

His Highness Yuma Amuku Manase, who was elected as the Agofe following the death of Jason Avutia III, stated that he was not officially invited to the meeting, describing it as a planned move to oust his leadership and a violation of the Lugbara Constitution.
 
“Lugbara Kari cabinets have now decided to exclude Ayivu and myself, blaming me for decisions made by politicians who chose not to recommend Lugbara Kari as a recognized tribe. This is very disappointing,” Manase explained.
 
This move to eliminate Ayivu from Lugbara Kari has sparked controversy among opinion leaders, legal practitioners, and clan leaders, raising questions about the relevance and legitimacy of the Lugbara Kari Constitution.
 
Ejiku Elly Emo, a cultural leader from Nyio in Ayivu, accused the cabinet of manipulation and corruption, suggesting that there is collusion between the cabinet, the local government of Ayivu, and other stakeholders to oust the current Agofe in favor of Pati.  “I don’t know which constitution they are using if they are claiming to follow any at all,” Elly stated.

Attempts to obtain further comments from Alekua Jaffar, the clerk to the council of Lugbara Kari, were unsuccessful, as he declined to make any statements regarding the meeting.  “We are not issuing any statement on this matter,” Jaffar noted.
 
According to Article 5.1(g) of the amended Lugbara Kari constitution dated April 28, 2024, it is stated that “the recommendation for gazetting the Lugbara Kari shall come from the three purely Lugbara-speaking districts of Arua, Maracha, and Terego.”
 
This means that Arua City, which predominantly hosts the Ayivu people, is not recognized by Lugbara Kari as part of the recognized territories for the tribe.