Lango leadership dispute: Why minister defied court order

Ambassador Dickson Ogwang and Eng Dr Michael Moses Odongo Okune. The two had been elected as Lango paramount chiefs through different elections, causing tensions in the region. Court cancelled their respective election. PHOTO/COMBO
What you need to know:
- A hearing into the Lango leadership dispute is scheduled for February 12, 2025.
Gender minister Betty Amongi Ongom has defended her choice not to de-gazette Eng Dr Michael Moses Odongo Okune as the Lango Paramount Chief, contrary to a Lira High Court order.
The court on October 31, 2024 ruled that the March 1, 2024 election of the former executive director of Uganda Road Fund (URF) as Won Nyaci me Lango (Paramount Chief of Lango) was "illegal, null and void."
The court ordered Amongi to de-gazette Eng Dr Odongo Okune and re-gazette the outgoing 94-year-old traditional leader, Mzee Yosam Odur Ebii, as the Paramount Chief.
However, as Amongi was still waiting for further guidance from the Attorney General (AG) on the matters, two clan leaders under the rival Lango Cultural Foundation sued the minister for contempt of court.
Denis Obia Acila, the Atek-onote Clan head, together with Benjamin Okidi (the Okiibura Clan head), sued Amongi for allegedly failing to implement the court order.
The suit was filed through their lawyers of Emmanuel Egaru of Egaru & Co. Advocates and Ahamark Co. Advocates.
Obia Acila and Okii are seeking an arrest warrant for the minister and request that she be committed to civil prison for her contempt of court.
They also want Amongi to pay a fine of Shs300 million and an additional Shs200 million for general damages.
“As a result of the respondent's actions, the applicants, who were the successful parties in Civil Suit No. 10 of 2024, have been subjected to psychological torture and immense distress,” the suit states in part.
The hearing is scheduled for February 12, 2025.
But Amongi, responded in her affidavit, which was received at the High Court in Lira on January 30, 2025, that she was not a party to Civil Suit No; 10 of 2024. The said case is the basis of the orders sought to be enforced in this application.
“I have been advised by my lawyers of Makmot Kibwanga & Co. Advocates, whose advice I verily believe to be true, that although a court order must be complied with, the orders of court arising from the main suit ought not to have directed against my office as I was neither sued nor given an opportunity to defend myself in the original proceedings vide HCCS No. 10 of 2024, thus making compliance challenging,” said Amongi.
The minister further claimed that she was never served with the said court order in person except her office was served in her absence on November 4, 2024.
This event, she said, happened several days after the court’s judgement was delivered on October 31, 2024 when the abdication of Mzee Yosam had already been effected on November 1, 2024.
Around that time, Amongi said the assumption of office of Won Nyaci by Eng Dr Odongo Okune was already effected on November 2, 2024, thus making her seek advice from the Attorney General.
“That much as I want to comply, I know that de-gazetting Eng Odongo Okune without following the relevant steps as outlined in the law is apt to attract legal liabilities for my office and the country at large and thus my request for further basis from the applicants,” Amongi added.
“That I know that court orders must be obeyed except if itself is not in compliance with the law or practically impossible to implement,” she held.
Still in her affidavit, Amongi observed that she respects Ugandan courts but: “I questioned, as it’s my power with the law, the institution implementing it for being adjudged by the same judge who gave the order in issue now and in the same case as incapable of handling the affairs of Lango cultural leadership”.
“That I discovered that the Lango Cultural Foundation, which sponsored the re-gazettement of Mzee Yosam Odur, is a limited liability company and therefore against the above law regulating cultural institutions and therefore re-gazetting Mzee Yosam would be illegal. I advised Yosam’s team to follow the law so that I may re-gazette him,” she elaborated.
Amongi further acknowledged that the Attorney General advised her to respect the court order but to wait for further directions regarding its implementation.
Last year, uncertainty prevailed in northern Uganda as rival camps sought to crown different Lango cultural leaders commonly called the paramount chief or won nyaci.