A serene mood hung over Serere and indeed, beyond Teso, as  the leader of the Iteso Cultural Union Papa Emorimor Augustine Lemukol was laid to rest, almost three weeks after his death. 

 In a ceremony that attracted representatives from as far as Kenya, Sudan and beyond, Papa Emorimor was described by both the clergy and different other speakers as a rare leader, a man who built consensus, a unifier. 

President Museveni who was represented by the Vice President Jessica Alupo said that Emorimor could have lived longer, had it not been for COVID-19. 

The President asked mourners and society in general to take great care of elders because they are a great source of knowledge and wisdom. He made reference to his father,Anos Kaguta,who,he said, contributed a depth  of knowledge when the President was writing the Runyankore Dictionary.

Calling for calm amidst succession talks, the Vice President, also woman MP-Katakwi district shared a recollection of the Emorimor, who said that being a cultural leader or emorimor was not about acquiring personal resources, or wielding power and authority over the "ateker" people but that it was about uniting people in the fight against poverty and shouldering all the challenges of Ateker people. "And indeed, Papa Emorimor rallied us, let us emulate him," she added.

Alupo also guided on the issue of succession, saying this shouldn't be hurriedly done. "Let's have consensus,  follow the example of Papa Emorimor, by respecting his ideals and the legacy he built". Earlier, Peace Mutuzo- state Minister for gender, under whose mandate,cultural institutions fall had made similar remarks, advising that the issue of who becomes the next Iteso Cultural leader would be handled systematically, in it's time. "As we sit here, there are some people who might have ideas on succession. We will deal with that in it's own time", Mutuzo remarked.

The family of the late Emorimor spoke fondly of their father as a peace loving man who worked hard and lived by the virtues of honesty and intergrity. 

In his sermon, Bishop Joseph of Soroti Diocese described the late Emorimor as an upright leader who was conscious of the fact that he would meet with his God and therefore lived a perfect life. Papa, the Bishop said, had worked for heaven. 

The funeral attracted multitudes of people, including representatives from Deputy President of Kenya-Samuel Ruto and former Prime Minister,Raila Odinga as well as MPs from S.Sudan, Kenya, the East African Legislative Assembly and several Ugandan MPs.  

And at exactly 4.28pm, Papa Emorimor was laid to rest, with the gun salute and the funeral tunes accompanying the mood, as his coffin was lowered in his final resting place.

Ends     

*VP-Press Team*