Dear Papa, today I made you proud!

Papa, when you passed on, your neighbour thought your lineage had passed on with you. While we were still recovering from the shock of loosing you and while we were still trying to find our feet, your neighbour wanted to grab your land.

Yes, that land that was handed over to you by your forefathers. The very land, you handed down to us. Papa, the very land your forefathers are buried in. That same land we laid you to rest.

He took himself to court and shamelessly opened his mouth and spewed lies. Claiming the land was given to him by his uncle.

Papa, your neighbour has no shame and no conscience in his heart. He could not listen to the cry of the orphans and widows. The greed for land consumes him.

I came and cried in front of your graves. Asking where I was going to take your bones for re-burial. But later, I remembered that there is a God who fights for orphans. He will never forsake them.

I made a promise to you. No one will touch what belongs to you. No one will touch what belongs to your fathers. No one will tamper with what rightfully belongs to us.

Papa, today, I made you proud. He expected a man to raise up and challenge him. Instead, your own Ikellote did it. He thought because Omoding was buried, his whole lineage was buried. He didn’t know you live on in us.

Papa today the courts of law of Uganda rightfully handed us back our land. Justice delayed is not justice denied.

I wish you were there to hear the screams and shouts of joy from the widows, from the orphans, when I went back to the village to deliver the news. Papa, now I know why you wanted me to do law. But still, I still made you proud.

Papa, I can have a peaceful night knowing deep down, no one is going to disturb your Bones. Papa, you can rest in peace. God got us!!!!

Your loving daughter, Ikellote.

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We have re-published this post with permission from Ms. Akello Sarah, who generously shared her experience on her Facebook. In granting permission to our Managing Director, Ms. Norah Owaraga, Ms. Akello testified:

“I know you (Norah Owaraga) have the same struggles. I pray God sees you through my sister. You were an encouragement to me, by the way.”

We celebrate and congratulate Ms. Akello on her success. And by sharing her post on our website we wish her empowerment to shine a light of hope for other women. May Ms. Akello, as our Ms. Owaraga was to her, be a role model to many other women. Encouraging them to know that they have it in them to rise up and fight for land justice.