The late Lango Paramount Chief, Yosam Odur Ebii, who died on November 10, 2025, at the age of 99, has been eulogized as a peacemaker and visionary cultural leader who played a pivotal role in ending northern Uganda’s decades-long insurgency.
Odur, known as the Won-nyaci from 2003 until his health declined in 2024, was instrumental in convincing Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony to abandon armed rebellion.
‘It was Won-nyaci Yosam Odur who led a team of elders and religious leaders from Lango sub-regions to meet Mr Kony in the Garamba jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo and convinced him to stop the senseless killing of unarmed civilians,’ said Ambassador Dickson Ogwang Okul, Foreign Affairs Minister of the Lango Cultural Foundation.
Ogwang recalled that Odur had been active since 2004, organizing regional meetings to address insecurity caused by LRA rebels and Karimojong cattle rustlers.
‘It was in that meeting that Yosam Odur talked bitterly about the government’s refusal to negotiate peace with the LRA. The resolutions forced the government to accept peace talks,’ he added.
Senior Presidential Advisor Franco Ojur, a former UNLA soldier, highlighted Odur’s role in stabilizing the region after 1986 saying: ‘It was Yosam Odur who moved around Lango sub-region convincing former soldiers who wanted to start a rebellion to surrender their guns.’
Several mourners who spoke to Monitor held that Odur’s contributions extended beyond peacebuilding.
Otuke Assistant RDC Isaac Opio Opeo described him as a mentor who promoted Lango culture, including the reintroduction of the Won-nyaci leadership.
He organized the Lango Conference of 2012, which brought diaspora Langi from Europe and the US to present development demands, later fulfilled by the government.
Lango Prime Minister Fred Ogwal Oyie, now acting Won-nyaci, said he will oversee elections to select Odur’s successor.
The Lango Regional Special Council adopted resolutions to honor Odur’s legacy, including erecting rhino statues along major roads, establishing a Lango cultural education centre at Lira University, documenting his biography, and organizing an annual lecture in his memory.
Support for Aya Victoria Vocational School, founded by Odur in memory of his late wife, was also endorsed.
Odur’s official burial is scheduled for November 22, 2025, at his home in Teboke Village, Chegere Sub-County, Apac District.
Leaders described him as a courageous and dedicated custodian of peace and culture, whose legacy shaped both Lango society and northern Uganda.