UGANDA: GENERAL OTEMA AWANY, THE BRAVE SOLDIER, AFTER HIS RETIREMENT, WENT THROUGH ACHOLI TRADITIONAL RITUAL NORMS KWER.

Just on Friday, August 21, General Charles Otema Awany arrived at his Tangi home, his country home turned into an ancestral village, in the morning hour, where he stepped on an egg with an Opobo tree and was welcomed by Layeb, by Bolo, his clan head, Rwot Lacen and Ogal, his head of the Bolo/Palami clan.

In the evening, Gen Otema was given a bow and arrow to shoot the Chick; he did not even aim, and the arrow caught the chick immediately. The elder picked up the killed Chick and took it inside the house. Gen. Otema Awany was rushed to Anti Hill, which was excavated through; he was pushed in to face Okok, ready to bite him. When he went through, the instruction was given to him not to cry; his sister, Anena Awany, was behind General Otema as he made three shots. Anena made Kijera Ululation three times, followed by the gunshots.

NWOYA DISTRICT- AUGUST 21, 2026.

By Okumu Livingstone Langol, (Uganda Correspondent)

The grandson of Obura Lutoka from the Bolo Lamac clan, who fled the British after slaughter in the late 18th century or early 19th century and went to the Palami clan to take refugees to his sister, his grandson Otema Awany followed in his footsteps to become a hero a century.

The theory of the Luo adage (Mac nyolo Mac not Buru.) Literally, fire begot fire, not ass. was welcomed officially back home after retiring from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), after 47 years. Gen. Otema was recruited by the Uganda National Liberation Army, the former Uganda Guerrilla Army based in Tanzania, who topped President Idi Amin, who baptised himself Field Marchella of the former British Empire and the Conqueror of the British.

He was recruited by John Onyango Odongo at Pece stadium, the then Army recruitment selected toll giants’ men from Acholi Sub Region, which he benefited too, among the newly recruited ULFA Army recruits they were taken for Nine months what was referred and deport, some of us who came to witnessed the Army recruitment stand and look from the distance, as the Army recruitment was on the process.

Ogal the family head of Bolo Lamac Clan of Puranga/ Palami, why the two clan Bolo Lamac and Palami became one, When Obura Latoka flea from Bolo Lamac where they were based at Lamini-ken the current place called Opok Rome, Lunyiri Sub County when slay the Indian citizen who tortured the elders of Bolo.

Reaching Palami, he was welcomed by the Rwot of Palami. When Obura Lutoka also slayed an Arab trader whom he found molesting his sister, he took refuge in Rowt Patiko. This annoyed the Arab, who in turn killed the Rwot of the Palami clan. Forcing the Obura Latoka and his brother Araa, who hailed from Bolo Lamac, to undergo tradition obligation, both of the two brothers and Palami clan members they presented themselves before Abila in the ritual that these two clans their totem will be Mac yee and Agwa yee.

All of the men and women dressed in Adam suits to signify that no one among them will see the nakedness of their brothers and sisters. But the Obura Latoka family kept their roots in the Bolo Clan up to this day.

Ogal Moses, the head of the Obura Lutoka siblings, on Saturday, August 28, while addressing the huge cowards, intimated that I belong to the Palami clan of Payira, when General Otema Awany Oluma Latoka Ojok, Jok jok ma malo, literally God of heaven, the two at their young, youthful begotten Otema Awany on · Date: April 4, 1963

At the place called Tangi Village, Te-Acam Parish, Purongo Sub- County, Nwoya District, Uganda, Oluma Awany, we had to surrender him to the world; we ventured him; he grew; we sent him to work to defend the army.

Today we celebrated his coming; we embraced God; let us work with him, ladies and gentlemen, to liberate him for all hen cement, he needs to be liberated over his long journey of 47 years. We want him; we bless him, of Palami clan prayer.

To remain a liberation war, mine is a thank you collectively, work together; no stone is great, lady and gentlemen.

Ladit, General Otema Charles Awany,

Lakony Michael, the former MP Flag Bearer, Kilak South, and the former Local Councillor 5, of Amuru District, described who is General Otema Awany verbatim, here below.

Your service to our people has truly been a service above self, and the people of Acholi Subregion have felt and witnessed it in ways that words can hardly capture.

For many years, you served in circumstances where courage, sacrifice, and patriotism were tested every day. Through the bullets, the hatred, the difficult moments, the rumours, and the many challenges that surrounded the conflict in Northern Uganda, you remained steadfast. Your commitment to peace and to the people gave many of us hope when hope was in short supply.

Today, many of us look back and realise that your presence and dedication in the Army contributed greatly to saving lives, calming our communities, and shortening the suffering that our people endured. Without your service and the contribution of others like you, many more lives could have been lost, and the war could have lasted much longer.

General, your presence in the Army has been a blessing to Acholi.

What makes your contribution even more remarkable is that you have consistently demonstrated generosity and a commitment to development without allowing clan, family, or brotherhood interests to limit your service to the wider community. You have carried yourself as a son of Acholi who understood that leadership is not about serving a few, but about lifting everyone.

What stands out even more is your reconciliatory heart. Despite being abused, hated, and openly opposed by some people, including attacks directed at you and your family, you chose forgiveness over bitterness, reconciliation over revenge, and unity over division. That spirit is a powerful testimony to the kind of leader you are.

Now that you have retired from active military service, I do not see this as the end of your service. I see it as the beginning of another chapter.

Acholi Subregion still needs your wisdom, your experience, your courage, and your voice. Our greatest battle today is no longer fought with guns. It is the battle against poverty, unemployment, division, hopelessness, and underdevelopment. This is where we now need your leadership even more.

I sincerely hope that the Government will continue to recognise and utilise the tremendous social capital you have built throughout your years of service. You have worked with people from different backgrounds and built relationships across communities. That experience makes you uniquely placed to help strengthen unity, reconciliation, peace, and socioeconomic development in Acholi.

You are, without doubt, an icon of the Acholi Subregion and one of the sons of Acholi whose service has left a lasting mark in the UPDF and in the history of Northern Uganda.

As you step away from active service, we do not want you to step away from us. We continue to rally behind you and appeal to you to remain available to serve our people in whatever capacity God and Government may provide.

Please continue to remember those of us who have walked with you and those whose lives have been touched by your service. For many of us, seeing you rise through the ranks of the Government and the Army has been a source of pride and inspiration.

General Otema, thank you for your courage. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for choosing service over self. Thank you for standing with our people when it mattered most.

May your retirement from active military service open a new and fruitful chapter of service to humanity. May God grant you good health, wisdom, strength, and many more years to continue contributing to peace, unity, and development in Acholi Subregion and Uganda at large.

You have served the nation in uniform. Now, may you continue serving the people with the wisdom that experience has given you. With profound respect, gratitude, and admiration,