Acholi Paramount Chief Rebukes Subjects Over Exhorbitant Bride Price

The Acholi Paramount Chief Rwot, David Onen Acana II has expressed disappointment over the exorbitant bride price levied by his subjects.

According to Acana, he is overwhelmed with petitions from concerned subjects in Amuru, Nwoya, Pader, Kitgum, Agago, Lamwo and Omoro district imploring him to intervene in the matter.

 

Last week, a delegation of clan chiefs and politicians led by Pader Town Council LC III, Fearless Kilama visited the Acholi Chiefdom headquarters at Bardege Division in Gulu town and appealed to the institution to regulate bride practice.

Speaking to URN an interview, Kilama explained that several youths in Pader have failed to marry due to the exorbitant bride price levied by parents.

 

Patrick Oola Lumumba, the Bardege Division LC 3 Chairperson in Gulu Municipality who hosted the delegation, argues that youths delay or never get married for fear of being slapped with exorbitant bride price.  

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Alice Ajok of Pader Town Council asserts that the debate around reforms to discourage the practice of bride price have been going on longer than necessary, arguing that the Chiefdom needs to be supported to traverse and disseminate the right information among the subjects.   

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While responding to the issue, Rwot Acana castigated the practice, saying Acholi clan chiefs and elders have already designed an agreeable modality to guide the Acholi community but the strategy is yet to be remodified.   

 

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Rwot rebuked his subject to desist from the habit of importing foreign cultures, which renders Acholi norms and practices inferior.    

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According to the Paramount Chief, the unaddressed legacies of the two-decade long insurgency caused by the Lord’s Resistance Army- LRA has rendered hundreds of youth unproductive, alcoholism, substance abuse and general cultural decay.

Currently, for one to marry, an assessment for the required dowry is presented to the groom by the bride’s family. This usually includes cash and livestock. The bride price is also assessed basing on a girls education and qualification level.