Tororo District: The Iteso-Jopadhola conflict

By Tezira Jamwa

As we grew up in the 1950s, adults used to tell us about the origin of the Jomia (Iteso) of Tororo County.

According to oral and written history, as they were travelling from Karamoja, the Jomia passed through East Budama (Tororo County) and crossed Malawa (river) to Mumias, Kenya.

For some unknown reason, some Jomia returned to East Budama and the indigeneous community in that area, which was the Jopadhola, welcomed them.  The number of Jomia kept increasing as some of their kinsmen, who committed crimes in Mumias and were running away from the clutches of the law from Kenya, escaped to East Budama, which was a safe haven for them. 

This explains why the Jomia are concentrated along Malawa.  Because after crossing Malawa, they felt safe and settled along the banks of Malawa. 

Soon they were assimilated and started marrying the Jopadhola girls who were beautiful, hardworking and the bride price for these girls was reasonable. 

Secondly, for security purposes and to avoid being attacked by indigenous Jopadhola during tribal wars, intermarriage was guaranteed security.  They also started learning and speaking Dhopadhola to avoid being identified as Jomia, who had escaped from Mumias. So the children adopted their mother tongue.

The Jomia found Jopadhola well organised in their homesteads and had a lot of cattle.  So before they established themselves, the Jomia, started by doing menial jobs like digging in gardens of the Jopadhola and working as herdsmen and also worked as askaris. 

At our home, there were many Jomias doing those kinds of jobs. Now with the advent of the East African Railways, some of the Jomia came to Tororo as labourers and after crossing into Uganda, they joined the Jomia who were already at Malawa. 

By then the current Tororo district was known as Budama district and it was under the dominance of Padhola chiefs.

This was so because the Jopadhola were the most educated and they were the indigenous community.  And that is why Kakungulu's administration recruited the majority of them.

Another reason why the Jopadhola were massively recruited as chiefs is because Budama district runs from Malawa, bordering also Busiu, Bunyole and Busoga, Samia-Bugwe and Kenya.

According to the Byarugaba Commission of Inquiry (Proposal for creation of a new district from Tororo County and issues incidental, thereto) Legal Notice No. 5 of 2005 Report, "Although a few people in Tororo County complained of being intimidated and threatened if they did not support the creating of the new district, the Commission found no evidence that disharmony will prevail, if a new district is created.

The high rate of intermarriage among the people of Tororo district indicated that inter-ethnic harmony existed.  In Kisoko sub-county, (West Budama) when the Commission asked the participants to indicate whether any of their relatives (mother, father, son and daughter) were in ethnically mixed marriages, about half put up their hands.  This was just one of the several confirmations of the fact that countless Iteso and Jopadhola families were close linked by marriage.  This situation greatly contributes to a favourable environment for harmonious and equitable co-existence" page 25.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017, when President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni met the Jopadhola and Iteso at his country home in Rwakitura, he had a 1964 map which he wielded and stated that the map shows that Tororo Municipality is in Tororo County. He was alone, because there were no technical officials from the Ministry of Lands, nor was there any of the ministers from the Ministry of Lands. Even the Attorney General was not there. Since the President had other guests to attend to, he told us that he had two options for us. 

One is that the Tororo Municipality should become a city and Tororo County becomes a district and West Budama, Nagongera becomes a district.  Both ethnic groups vehemently rejected the first option. And in any case, we the Jopadhola have never asked for any tribal district.  And it would be quite unconstitutional for the President to push a district down our throats without asking for one.  The second option was that Tororo County goes with Tororo Municipality and West Budama becomes a new district.  While the Itesot clapped and ululated, we the Jopadhola rejected the option because to us the Jopadhola, Tororo Municipality is our Jerusalem just as Jerusalem is for the Jews. Because of this impasse, the President had to reschedule the meeting for the next day which was Wednesday 12th July 2017 at State House, Entebbe.

We the Jopadhola know that creation of any district in Uganda is a constitutional matter.  There is no way the head of state can order or push any community to have a tribal district by force. If he had insisted he would have set a very bad precedence and would have treated the Jomia as a very special case.  Just to inform the readers is that throughout the history of creation of districts which started rapidly in 1996, no new district has ever moved with the district headquarters to a new district.

Chapter eleven of the 1995 Constitution talks about the Local Government principles and structures of the Local Government.  Article 179 of the Constitution which talks about boundaries of Local Government units, Section (2) of this Article states that: "Any measure to alter the boundary of a district or to create a new district shall be supported by a majority of all the members of Parliament.  Section (4) states that: Any measure for the alteration of the boundaries of or the creation of districts or administrative units shall be based on the necessity for effective administration and the need to bring services closer to the people and it may take into account the means of communication, geographical features, density of population, economic viability and the wishes of the people concerned".

The name Tororo came about as a result of the morning mist/fog which would heavily cover the rock in the morning.  When our ancestors we the Jopadhola saw this, they said in Dhopadhola: TOR (MIST/FOG) ORO (YEAR) which would appear towards the end of the year around November to January.  This would herald dry season.

After living harmoniously for over six centuries without agitating for a district, it is sad to know that it is the political elite from Tororo County who started the new Tororo County district talk.  In 2000, we the seven Members of Parliament then in the 6th Parliament from Tororo District, Paul Etyang (Tororo County), Stephen Ongaria (Tororo Municipality), Emmanuel Othieno Akika (Budama South), Tezira Jamwa (Budam North), Emmanuel Dombo (Bunyole), Ekanya (Youth, Eastern) and Dorothy Samalie Hyuha (Woman Tororo District) had a meeting in Rock Hotel (now Rock Classic) that ended in a terrible disagreement.

The meeting was convened by Paul Etyang under the guise of development.  Actually the rest of us were just ambushed with the subject matter which was creation of a new district from Tororo County.  The RDC then of Tororo District, Magode Ikuya, also attended the meeting.  We vehemently rejected the move.  Later, we discovered that this was a political ploy by our senior politician to earn him votes in the next elections which took place in 2001.  So the creation of a new district in Tororo County was triggered by the veteran politician.  Now when he lost the 2001 elections to Ekanya, his nemesis also jumped on the band wagon of agitating for the creation of a new district.  He used that trick until when he lost the 2016 elections.  I think every Ugandan remembers last year how Ekenya put up an antic of committing suicide in Parliament because of a new district that goes with the mother district headquarters.

Although Paul Etyang lost the 2001 elections, behind the scenes under the guise of elders from Tororo County, he continued pushing for new district with the Municipality as its headquarters.  The retired Bishop Nicodemus Okille also joined the fray and started working closely with Etyang his in-law.  The most outstanding reason for agitating for a district is that the Jopadhola are oppressing, suppressing and marginalising the Jomia.  So the issue of Tororo District being split was started by the political elite as a ploy for winning elections. 

Another trick that the elders forum of Tororo County used was to find a candidate from the Tororo Municipality Constituency who would front/champion the interests of the Jomia.  In 2005/6 the group landed on Sanjey Tanna a Ugandan of Asian origin, supported him for two terms.  So when Sanjey lost the elections of 2016, their hope of taking the Municipality to Tororo County became very bleak.  But still Sanyey Tanna is supporting their cause by using his resources in whatever way he can to make sure the Municipality goes to the Jomia.

For those two terms Sanjey Tanna was in Parliament, all local government units right from Lc1 to Municipality levels, those offices were occupied by the Jomia.  In comes in Sarah Achieng Opendi, Woman MP Tororo and a Cabinet minister for Health General Duties. She is a Japadhola herself, but has formed an alliance with Tororo County leaders to push for the Municipality to go to Tororo County.  She has been misinforming her colleagues the Ministers including the Minister of Security and who knows even the President how Tororo Municipality belongs to Tororo County.  This is a big lie that can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that indeed Tororo as a township, town board, town council and Municipality belonged to belonged to Budama District. This was evident when the President met us in Rwakitura, we noticed he was leaning on one side.  We were not even given the time to debate the two options the President had for us.

On Wednesday, July 12, 2017 when we met the President at State House Entebbe, each group was led by their cultural leader and each group had a spokesperson.  After submission by their spokespersons, the cultural leaders were accorded opportunity to give the historical backgroung of their people.  Kwara Adhola, Moses Owor the Jopadhola cultural leader gave the President the true picture of the Jopadhola and even explained to the President the meaning of the word "Badama".  He told the President and the entire meeting that during the tribal was in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Jopadhola were very fierce warriors and that they were very strategic and tactical during the tribal wars. 

One of the strategies they use was to dig trenches, cover them with grass and shrubs and then tactically withdrew.  So when the other tribes especially the Banyole would pursue them, they fall into the trenches, trapped and they became helpless.  So the Jopadhola warriors would come while singing "widoma" meaning helpless. When the Bantu tribes heard this word "widoma" they nicknamed the Jopadhola Badama and all others including the colonial masters continued to use the word to describe the Jopadhola.

Then Kwara Adhola continued to give the political background of Budama district. He said that in 1941/42 during the Second World War, more African soldiers were imported from South Sudan and other neighboring countries.  And that the training for these recruits was in Budama District.  So Budama district was temporarily transferred to Mbale, Maluku. When the time for returning to Budama district came, Kakungulu re-named it Bukedi district and it comprised the counties of Budama, Bunyole, Bugwere and Samia Bugwe. 

Budama lost its name in Second World War in 1942 Kwara Adhola added.  Kwara Adhola also added that when Obote in Obote one regime appointed James Ochola, a Minister of Local Government and a Japadhola from Mulanda sub-county in Tororo District, Ochola said "our district must return). 

So according to history, James Ochola transferred our district to Tororo and constructed the District Headquarters in Tororo Town which later in 1985 became a Municipality.  Kwara Adhola also expressed fear that the Jomia have a hidden agenda of capturing places like Katakwa in Kenya to Katakwi in Teso and that along the way they will crash the Jopadhola and Banyole.

While the cultural leader of Teso Emormor Osuban on other hand only beseeched the President to give the Jomia in Tororo a district plus the Municipality because they were being oppressed, suppressed and marginalised.  The Emormor never told us how they came to Tororo.  This obviously indicated that the Emormor is not familiar with the origins of his subjects in Tororo District. And his Prime Minister Sunday Emolot did not help matters as he kept accusing the Jopadhola for threatening violence.  He even said that the RDC of Tororo Martin Oroci for taking sides with Jopadhola which is a very unfounded lie.

The spokesperson of Tororo County group Dr. Apollo Epuwat toed the same line.  He whined and repeatedly accused the Jopadhola  for oppressing, suppressing and marginalising the Jomia.  When we heard these biased and unfounded lies we were quite shocked.  Dr. Epuwat had a clinic in Tororo town and it is here where all prominent Jopadholas go for treatment. 

The late Archbishop Yona Okoth before he passed on, he used to go in this clinic for treatment and even his wife Jesca Okoth died in this clinic while undergoing treatment. My late husband, Amos Owor Jamwa, I used to take him to Dr. Epuwat's clinic each time he had an attack of diabetes of blood pressure, even me when I am sick, I do go to this clinic for treatment.  Now before he made his submission, Dr. Epuwat stated that he was saved (born again) over three decades ago.  How could he lie to the President that the Jopadholas are suppressing and marginalising the Jomia of Tororo County without substantiating the allegations.

Tororo County group imported MPs from Teso and Karamoja regions, Minister in charge of Teso Affairs and Annet Nyaketcho who has just been in the district for one year. This group included retired Bishop Obaikol of Soroti plus retired Bishop Nicodemus Okille from Tororo.  When I saw these two men of God, I shuddered.  They were obviously dividing the body of Christ on the Cross.  They should be playing a uniting role of their flocks instead of going back to the old things or embracing the secular world before our very own eyes.

When Bishop Okille came forward to lead us in prayer, obviously there were murmurs from the Jopadhola side. And when the meeting ended abruptly, Annet Nyaketcho called on a Bishop to pray, she was booed and instead a Moslem from Jopadhola group led the prayer. Obviously this did not augur well for the other side.

I want to prove that we have been living harmoniously with the Jomia and that we are not segregate or discriminate against anybody who is a Japadhola.  In Padhola we grew up seeing our grandparents and parents welcoming people from different tribes and even educating their children.  I want to inform everybody reading this article that Bishop Okille would have not become a bishop of Bukedi at such a young age if he had not been nurtured and mentored by the Jopadhola more so by the Archbishop Yona Okoth. 

Before expounding on that statement, I would like also to let people know that when Bishop Okille first became a Deacon in St. Peter's now Cathedral, our mother Rev. Lucy Langa would always send food for him and my sister Christine Achieng Langa would carry baskets of fresh food like matooke, cassava, sweet potatoes and vegetables and take to his home. 

While he was Bishop of Bukedi, he would preside over all functions organised by the Jopadholas, be it wedding, christening, burial or last funeral rite.  Even when he retired we would look for him to perform those functions. When my husband died he presided over the burial two years ago. So when we the Jopadhola see retired Bishop Okille taking sides, our hearts bleed profusely.  When I organized a fundraising for St. Paul's Church Kisoko in 1997 and celebrated my victory for will Parliamentary elections of 1996, it is retired Bishop Obaikol of Soroti Diocese then that I invited as a main celebrant.  When I see those two gentlemen trying to steal the identity of Jopadhola, I shudder deeply.

When Bishop Okille had just returned from America after his theological studies, there was an assistant bishop in Bukedi Diocese called Gonahasa.  Already Archbishop Yona Okoth had been destined to become the next Archbishop of the Church of Uganda.  Now the late Bishop Gonahasa who was a very senior person in the church, had a problem.  His political leaning was not clear, so the Obote 2 Government charged the late Archbishop Okoth with the responsibility of searching for a suitable candidate to become a fully-fledged Bishop of Bukedi Diocese.  Who better candidate than Bishop Okille.  He was young, highly educated and intelligent so he fit the bill.  That is how Bishop Okille became a Bishop through the help of a Japadhola.  It is always good to remember where people have come from and who helped them in their career!

Our brothers in Tororo County have been using all sorts of tricks in the name of getting a new district plus the Municipality. And yet in 2005 Parliament granted them permission to create a Mukuju districts wich was only 4 kms away from Tororo District Headquarters.  They could have taken the district to Kwapa is a distance from Tororo District. 

They rejected this offer and resorted to trickery for example of eating a rat before the President a few years ago and most recently again a man ate a rat.  Eating a rat is evil, satanic and abominable.  Issiah 66 : 17 in the NIV study Bible states that: "Those who consecrate and purify themselves to to into the gardens following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs, and rats and other abominable things - they will meet their end together.

The writer is a former Member of Parliament and Resident District Commissioner