CULTURE | LUGBARA | AGOFE

Following the death of the Lugbara paramount chief Jason Avutia Agofe III on January 23, 2023, the select committee overseeing the replacement process has halted the selection process until further notice.

This, according to reports, was done to give the people of Lugbara ample time to mourn their fallen chief who was buried on Sunday.

According to the earlier programme, the replacement process that started in November 2022 should have climaxed with the election of a new paramount chief Wednesday (February 1, 2023).

This was revealed by Moses Maandebo, the communication Officer for the chiefdom, who said the select committee for the replacement process is set to convene a meeting on Wednesday next week to draw the road map for the replacement process to resume.

He, however, said in the interim, the prime minister of Lugbara Kari (Epife) Ismail Tuku, has taken charge of the affairs of the chiefdom and also assumed the roles of the Agofe until the next paramount chief is identified as stipulated in the constitution of the Lugbara Cultural Institution.

“What we intend to do is that the select committee and secretariat will have a meeting on Wednesday next week to dram an adjusted programme for the replacement, but as of now, all the affairs of Lugbara Kari are headed and run by the prime minister who has equally been running the affairs when Agofe was bedridden," Maandebo said.

The selection of Agofe for Lugbara Kari is conducted by the council of elders composed of the different clan heads under Lugbara.