By KT Reporter
The family of the late Tiberio Okeny Atwoma, a renowned Acholi political figure and educationist, has appealed to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to follow up on President Museveni’s pledge of a memorial school in his name.
The appeal was made on Sunday during the 13th Tiberio Okeny Atwoma memorial prayer held at Oryang Ojuma village in Labongo Amida Subcounty, Kitgum District.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Peter Opika Opoka, reminded the gathering about the late Atwoma’s contribution to education and community development in northern Uganda, something he said needs to be remembered through a school.
Opoka said the family has waited for 13 years for the government to fulfil the President’s promise, which was made on October 25, 2012, shortly after Okeny’s death.
He said the proposed Tiberio Okeny Atwoma Memorial Secondary School was meant to immortalize his father’s legacy and inspire future generations to value education and public service.
Residents in the area re-echoed the family’s call, saying the proposed school would not only serve as a tribute but also help address the persistent shortage of secondary schools in the sub-county.
Grace Adong, a resident of the village, said the nearest secondary school is at least five kilometers away, exposing the learners to risks associated with waking up very early and traveling the long distance to and from school.
“If this school is established, it will not only preserve the memory of a great son of Acholi but also help hundreds of children, especially girls, access education without walking long distances,” Adong said.
Hellen Akello, a community elder in Oyrang Ojuma A village, said Atwoma was one of the most respected leaders from Acholi, and his name still commands respect in this region.
“A school in his memory would remind young people of the value of integrity, humility, and service to community,” Akello noted.
Nobert Mao, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, who was the chief guest at the event, advised the family to identify land for the project so that it is easy to present before the president.
Mao said he asked one of the family members if they already had it for the school, but he didn’t get a response.
He suggested that if the family didn’t have land for establishing the school, then it could be established in any other part of the region, because Atwoma belonged to the whole of Uganda.
Mao argued that if the family got land, they would send surveyors and architects to settle the land issue and draw the plan of the school, so that it would be presented before the president as a well-thought-out issue.
Mao also tipped the family to be ready and on standby to meet the president when he comes to campaign in the district to present the matter.
Who was Tibeiro Okeny Atwoma?
Tiberio Okeny Atwoma died on 12 October 2012 at Lacor Hospital in Gulu. He is remembered for, among others, his contribution in the Constituent Assembly that promulgated the 1995 Constitution and for his efforts to establish cordial relations between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels in the 1990s.
Tiberio Atwoma Okeny advocated for peace together with the late Bishop Kihangire, leading to the signing of the agreement with the Uganda People’s Democratic Army (UPDA), which was fighting with the Government then. In 1991, he was incarcerated by the Museveni Government for 18 months in Luzira for advocating for the common man. It was after 18 months that he was released.
He joined the Army, rose to the rank of a sergeant major, and then joined the civil service. In 1958, he contested for elections in Acholi as an independent.
When he lost in 1959, and that is when he joined the Democratic Party, and he was among the few who accompanied the late Benedicto Kiwanuka, then chief minister, to London’s Lancaster conference to negotiate for Uganda’s independence constitution.
He once served as the chairman of the Acholi District Council; he believed in larger units. During the CA, he was an ardent supporter of federalism.
He was asked why he supported federalism for the Acholi. He said that for the Acholi, federalism is within their blood; you do not even have to ask for federalism because they are already a federate.
In 1980, he contested with Dr Paul Kawanga Ssemwogerere, and he was elected the Vice-President of the Democratic Party. Some in Acholi and Uganda had nicknamed him the Acholi “Bulldozer” who valued human rights.
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