The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Dr. Tanga Odoi, the chairman of the NRM electoral commission, led a huge delegation of the ruling party members to pay homage to Kwar Adhola
Chairman General of National Organization Of Trade Union (NOTU) Usher Owere, who is Kwar Adhola’s ambassador to Entebbe region and the Diaspora, gave a report on a funds drive to support the kingdom’s activities. He also announced a member of the Entebbe Jopadhola community plans to build a health school in Tororo, and had offered a scholarship to musician ‘Young Pastor’ who had show cased his pro-development songs at the celebrations.
The Jopadhola Prime Minister (Jago) Richard Josel Obbo had earlier said Tieng Adhola activities need adequate funding to succeed. Services offered by the Tieng Adhola administrators are mainly voluntary according to the Cultural and Traditional Leaders Act 2011.
The Jago lists challenges
The Jopadhola Prime Minister Richard Josel Obbo gave a history and successes of the of the Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution, and listed bottlenecks that need to be overcome.
“Construction of the Royal Palace has stagnated due to financial constraints. We very much appreciate the contribution earlier made by your excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in particular and government in general for kick-starting the first phase of the construction. It is our payer and hope that the government will extend further assistance to us to enable completion of the project,” he said.
Jago Obbo also said vehicle facilitation for Kwar Adhola should be put under urgent consideration, given that the current one he has been in use for the last 15 years.
He urged government to provide an annual grant for help them mobilize and support government in its poverty alleviation drive, and also that government fulfills its promise to tarmac Tororo-Busolwe-Namutumba Road.
Who is Kwar Adhola Moses Stephen Owor?
Moses Stephen Owor was born to the late Mzee Wilbrod Othieno and Norah Nyanganda, a daughter of Chief Majanga, at Nagongera in 1926.
He started his early schooling at Nagongera Primary School, from where he proceeded to St. Peter’s College Tororo for his early secondary schooling, before joining Namilyango College for further studies.
He joined the Civil service in 1950 and rose through the ranks to become Permanent Secretary in the then Ministry of Labour where he played a key role sowing the seeds for the formation of NSSF, and retired from Government Service in 1977.
Upon retirement, he served the Federation of Uganda Employers as Executive Director, up to 1979, from where he joined the International Labour Organization based in Nairobi, Kenya as Chief Technical Advisor from 1980 to 1983.
He was among others, Chairperson of the Boards of Kilembe Mines Ltd and Produce Marketing Board and served on various other committees of government such as that one which made in 1987 recommendations to rationalize the public service of Uganda.
In other spheres, he was the first African Head of the Laity of Christ the King Parish in the seventies, was Charter President of Tororo Rotary Club, Member of board of Governors of St. Anthony Hospital, Tororo, the Benedictine Eye Hospital, also in Tororo and St. Peter’s College, Tororo. He has several children, serving the society in various public and private capacities.
When government allowed cultural institutions to operate according the law and norms of various peoples in Uganda; the Jopadhola clans elected him the first ‘Kwar Adhola’.
Historic 1999
On the 7th August 1999, Owor was installed as the cultural leader of the Jopadhola. The historic event took place in King George V stadium in Tororo Town after a cultural ritual performed by a one Opeti Obieto (RIP) and His Grace Yona Okoth (RIP), the then Archbishop of the Church of Uganda.
The leader of the Jopadhola was elected by consensus by an electoral college of the 52 registered clans in 1998. Hitherto each clan separately had its own clan leader called Kwar Nono (clan grandfather). And whereas the clan leaders had close association on account of common origin, none of them superintended over the others.
The new cultural leader was given the title Kwar Adhola (grandfather of the Jopadhola), and the new Union of the original and affiliated clans was christened Tieng Adhola Cultural Institution (TACI).
The Jopadhola can trace their origin through the migration of the Luo from Southern Sudan, following the Nile, to approximately 700 years.
Their grandparents Owiny and Adhola settled on the land now known as Padhola (Budama) between 1500 and 1550. It is from Tororo that Owiny the brother of Adhola, led another Luo group to Kenya.
Congratulations to the people of Padhola, Tororo and happy 20th coronation anniversary HH Kwari Adhola Moses Stephen Owori pic.twitter.com/FULjit1N3P
— Jacob Oboth Oboth (@ObothOboth) August 10, 2019
Am so grateful to my King for appointing me as his ambassador in Entebbe and Diaspora pic.twitter.com/ed4MaIyw9Z
— CHAIRMAN GENERAL-NOTU (@owere_usher) August 8, 2019
HRH Kwar Adhola Moses Owor marks 20th coronation anniversary, calls for end to land fragmentation in #Tororo #KwarAdholaAt20https://t.co/qnT1uXfIjX #Culture #Uganda #Jopadhola @ObothOboth @owere_usher pic.twitter.com/1Zkp9abn0e
— Louis Jadwong (@Jadwong) August 8, 2019
This piece has succinctly captured what took place! Thank you very much for this report.
Thank you for reading. Enjoy the celebrations
Thanks to the Great people of Adholar, may all of us learn from this luo group and cause unity for development.
The itessorts where trying to distablize these people but they demonstrated unity and a little strength off the strength.
Thanks to the wise leadership of specifically Pressident Museveni who handled Tororo/ Adholar cultural land boundaries/ districts issue with a lot of wisdom.
This stopped the worst that would have happened. Blood shade was stopped. Thanks to Museveni the President.
Long live the Great Japadhola people all over the world long live the lue people. God of heaven and Earth is Great. WERE is his name in their Lounguage.
Thank you for good work