An Ancestral Resting And Meeting Place
After the separation of Nyipir/Gipir and Nyabongo/Labongo, this was the second stopover point for Nyabongo/Labongo.
His first stopover was at Pajengo, named after a statement he made: “Dong ajengo kuma, umira wabinen kendo ngo kudi!” (“I have shielded myself; we shall never meet again as brothers!”) Nyabongo/Labongo went on and reached a hill on the eastern side of the River Nile near the present-day Pakwach-Karuma highway, where he lamented: “Umira, afoyo lembe ma itimo ikuma, iketho nyathin para utho andha!” (“Thank you for what you have done to me, brother, you caused the death of my child!”)
The hill was named Got Afoyo (also written as Got Apwoyo).
Located in Pabit village, Pajengo parish, Nwoya District (in the Acholi kingdom), the site is marked by a big tree called Ayek ayek where Nyabongo/Labongo is believed to have rested. It is on a hill that forms part of the buffer zone to Murchison Falls national park. It is in a savanna landscape, with beautiful views of the River Nile.
The site has over time become popular as a resting point (taya) for people trekking long distances between West Nile and Acholi. It is therefore not surprising that when the railway line was extended to West Nile, there was a station built at Got Apwoyo. Two dilapidated buildings belonging to Uganda Railways are still standing at the site. Because of the significance of this place, even the sub-county under which it falls is called Got Apwoyo.
The site is also said to have evolved into a meeting place for cultural elders from both Acholi and Alur. Those regarding the site as a meeting point say that it got its name from the locals around 800 A.D. when Acholi chiefs (Rwot Ojigi, Rwot Pico, Rwot Lugaja) would meet the Alur cultural elders to discuss issues affecting their people. As a way of expressing gratitude, the locals in that community said ‘wapwoyo (“we thank you” in Luo), hence, the name ‘Got Apwoyo’.
The last meeting of chiefs held here was in 2017. Of the current chiefs, Charles Otober of Amor Chiefdom, Opoki of Paroketo Chiefdom, Koch Owacho of Ragem Chiefdom, Charles OkumuOmbidi III of Panyimur Kwonga Chiefdom and Peter Ojigi of Kal Ker Kwaro Alokolum have attended a meeting here. The chiefs convened a meeting which was also attended by high-ranking religious leaders on the resolution of land conflict at the time of the late Col. Ochora.