Africa-Press – Uganda. BY PATRICK OKABA & FELIX WAROM OKELLO
At 3pm on Friday, the motorcade returning the remains of Justice Stella Arach-Amoko snaked through Nebbi Town after a two-week stalemate about her burial site
The Nyaravur Cultural troupe clad in traditional regalia welcomed the motorcade when it approached Nebbi main roundabout. The troupe blew the popular Agwara, accompanied by dancers with ankle bells, as the motorcade went to the White House-Local government office ground.
Mourners lined the roads to pay their last respects to the late justice.
Some mourners fainted while others were heard wailing and chanting praises for Justice Amoko, who has been revered as a role model to the girl-child in West Nile Sub-region.
The Local Government held a special council session to honour the jurist for her enormous contribution to the country.
Preceding the burial on Saturday, her husband had disagreed with her children and siblings on the final resting place. The matter was handled by the High Court Family Division in Kampala last Tuesday.
Her husband, Ambassador Idule Amoko, argued that she should be buried in Adjumani where she is married but her children and siblings disagreed.
Burying the hatchet
Her son Emmanuel Komakech said: “Much as there was a court process, we should leave it at that. This is the time for reconciliation and forgiveness. We thank her husband, Mr Amoko, for being a loving husband who took care and loved our mother until her death.”
Mr Godfrey Picho, her brother, said: “We want to have peace and respect accorded to both families… We want to ensure that the families in Adjumani and Koboko are safe.”
The call for harmony and respect was equally echoed by the widower, who is currently Deputy Head of Mission in South Sudan. Ambassador Amoko said: “Her Lordship and I enjoyed a respectable relationship in marriage. I will continue to honour my wife for being a loving, devoted, faithful, and charitable person. I will continue to hold her memory dearly. She had a determination to live a great life in dispensing justice.”
He added: “Let her wishes be fulfilled and this should be honoured by all the West Nile districts, especially in naming the streets in her name across the districts…Relationships do not die a natural death but live.”
Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera said the late Justice Arach-Amoko will be remembered as a passionate, brilliant and intelligent judicial officer.
She died on June 17 at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala, aged 69.
The chief mourner, also the third Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Rukia Nakadama, said the late Justice Arach-Amoko was dedicated and served with humility in the legal profession, where she first worked as a state attorney with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in 1979 and rose through the ranks to become a justice of the Supreme Court.
“In her 44 years of service, she delivered judgments that didn’t only resolve conflict but promoted fairness and brought justice to many Ugandans,” Ms Nakadama said.
She added that in an effort to reduce case backlog, the late introduced alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in the commercial court.
“The late justice Stella Arach-Amoko must be remembered for building a judiciary system that is responsible to the norms and values and aspirations of Ugandans,” Ms Nakadama said.
The State minister for Northern Uganda, Ms Grace Freedom Kwiyucwiny, urged the government to construct a girls’ school in Nebbi in memory of Justice Arach-Amoko.
“It is a great loss to the whole region since she was a God-gifted personality who served the country without a biased mindset and promoted transparency in the judicial system. A school would encourage more girls to study and rise to her level,” Ms Kwiyucwiny said.
Leaders have unanimously called on the government to construct a high court hall in Nebbi as one of the lasting legacies of the late Justice Stella Arach-Amoko.
She was laid to rest at 4 pm on Saturday at Juba Cell, Jukia Ward in Nebbi Municipality with hundreds of mourners, from various parts of the country, in attendance.
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