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Lango mourns ‘polished’ city clerk killed on black Monday
A truck prepares to transport the ill-fated vehicle in which Lira City clerk Theophilus Tibihika died on May 27, 2024. PHOTO/BILL OKETCH
What you need to know:
- On Tuesday, dozens of friends, family and local leaders gathered for a special Lira Council sitting to pay tribute to Tibihika.
A polished professional administrator and committed government servant are the words mourners used to depict the Lira City clerk who perished in a road crash.
Theophilus Tibihika, 53, was killed in a single-vehicle accident in Akalo Sub-county, in Northern Uganda’s Kole District in the wee hours of what local leaders called a “black Monday.”
His body was Monday morning found trapped in the wreckage of a Hilux double cabin he was said to be driving.
It is believed that at around 2am on Monday, Tibihika lost control of the car, veered off the Lira-Apac road and the vehicle overturned several times prior to killing him. Police in Kole District are yet to release a detailed incident report.
On Tuesday, dozens of friends, family and local leaders gathered for a special Lira Council sitting to pay tribute to Tibihika.
His deputy Lillian Grace Ocare said her boss was brought to Lira City as “a testimony of good work done in Kasese Municipality.”
“This fallen hero was a polished government servant,” Ocare told mourners at Lira City Council Hall.
“He was a think tank for this city. He told us that his brain never sleeps until he knows what he will do the next day,” Ocare added.
Council leaders say Tibihika was punctual, arriving at office at 7am, leaving after 10pm almost daily, an attribute some copied.
Col (Rtd) Tonny Otoa, a representative of Lango cultural institution remembered the deceased for his “commitment to Godly works.”
Dr Morris Chris Ongom, the former president of Lira City Development Forum, Tibihika planned to make Lira City great.
Tibihika was born on November 19, 1971 to the late Boniface Bwimbiza and Bernadette Kamategano of Nyakasa Village, Nyakyera Sub-county in Ntungamo District.
He is survived by a widow named Innocent Tibihika Atukunda and four children Theo Mukama Nuwagaba, Ayebare Rutakirwa, Aijuka Otwebembera and Arinda Otaremwa.
“There is no place he has gone, loved and has been committed to more than Lira City. He told me that he really wants to pray to God that He helps him to make Lira a great city in northern Uganda,” the widow revealed.
“I don’t think I have visited any city where he has worked as I have come to Lira,” she added, noting that the former clerk “loved his family,” she added.
