Abiriga funeral: Lugbara natives say chaos is normal

 

Chaos started from Arua airstrip 

Many Ugandans were left in shock at the sight of chaotic scenes and destruction that broke out at the country home of slain Arua municipality legislator Ibrahim Abiriga.

It all started when hundred of mourners who had surrounded Arua airfield awaiting the arrival of late Arua municipality Ibrahim Abiriga’s body overpowered security and poured unto the airfield.
The body of late Abiriga and his brother Saidi Buga Congo touched down in Arua from Kololo airstrip at around 4.40p.m. But no sooner had the two bodies been removed from the chopper than the mourners who were watching from the western side of the airfield poured into the airfield weeping, wailing and shouting – blaming government for Abiriga’s death.
MPs Mario Obiga Kania, Ismail Ogama, the wife of late Abiriga and some of his younger children all burst into tears as the crowd started wailing unstoppably. Many mourners shouted and wailed loudly blaming government for the death of Abiriga. They also demanded that the security personnel leave them to mourn their dear ones.

Meanwhile, several women fainted and collapsed on the ground as the crowd became uncontrollably, overwhelming the Red Cross team that had staged a first aid camp at the airport. Groups of youth overpowered security, forcibly opened the ambulances and seized the two caskets.

At his home, mourners destroyed several property including chairs, tents, A-Plus hearse among others.  To the uninitiated, funerals among the Lugbara, the indigenous people of Arua, is culturally a chaotic and destructive affair.
Like in literally all societies, death is always not expected and mysterious, and to the Lugbara death, of any nature draws a lot of questions, anger and fury.
Although Abiriga is not a Lugbara but a Madi-Okollo, he represented a mainly Lugbara people of Arua municipality. The Lugbara and Madi-Okollo are also culturally and linguistically similar, all belonging to the Sudanic stock.

Joel Chakua, a Lugbara and graduate teacher, says the chaos at Abiriga’s funeral “looks strange and a surprise but originally that’s how people mourned in our culture, however natural the death was”.

Chakua adds that in Abiriga’s case  “the violence should even be worse”, because of the emotive and high profile nature.

According to Chakua, head of Entebbe Adult Education Centre and now in his mid 40s, during his childhood “all funerals were chaotic and destructive”, concluding that once they have vented their anger “it will cool down!”

Aldo Candia, another Lugbara, says such chaotic scenes at a funeral, like Abiriga’s, is “true and normal”. Candia says “in our culture that (chaos) is normal but others see it unique”.

Being cultural, its likely the local organisers took that in stride, but never imagined the magnitude. Chakua says in Lugbra culture, especially in the olden days, “granaries would be pulled down, crops destroyed in the garden, and so forth, as a sign of outpouring of grief”.

In Abiriga’s case, explains Chakua, “the violence should even be worse, we should be seeing bows and arrows”.

According to Chakua, if the security forces are not informed of this cultural aspect, they may overreact, and as he puts it, “this will make matters worse”.