Leaders of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in Gulu District have appealed to President Museveni to help the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) massacre survivors. The ruling party leaders said individuals who survived the attacks by the rebel group need to be supported so that they can rebuild their lives.
Mr Christopher Ochen, the NRM district chairperson for Gulu, said: ‘Your Excellency, I appeal to you to support survivors of the LRA attack in Lukodi so that they can rebuild their lives. This is very important. The government also needs to construct a technical school so that they gain skills.’
He said the affected individuals need livelihood support so that they can become self-sufficient. Dozens of survivors of the May 19, 2004, LRA attacks on the Lukodi Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camp in Lukodi Village, Bungatira Sub-county in Gulu District are still struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The lack of psychosocial support to the massacre survivors has made the situation even worse. Mr Wilfred Lalobo, the chairperson of Lukodi LRA Massacre Survivors and Victims’ Association, said some individuals who survived the killings perpetrated by LRA fighters were yet to come to terms with what happened to them close to two decades ago.
He added that due to lack of counselling services, the survivors are still living in misery. He also said the unknown fate of those missing after they were abducted by the rebels has caused despair among their loved ones.
Mental health experts have linked the rising cases of suicide and domestic violence in Acholi Sub-region, the epicentre of the LRA insurgency, to PTSD.
Mr Ochen also observed the need to compensate communities that offered land for IDPs during the peak of the LRA insurgency in northern Uganda, as well as support families of Local Council members (RCs) who were targeted and killed by the rebels.
Seeking compensation
In May, family members of Local Council (LC) officials who were killed by LRA rebels in the Acholi Sub-region sought compensation from the government. The LRA attacked and killed several Local Council officials during their insurgency, accusing them of acting as informants for the government army and the police.
The killings mainly happened between 1987 and 2004. These were the peak of the LRA insurgency in northern Uganda.
In June 2015, children of the murdered Local Council officials demanded support from the government. Ms Evelyne Ajok, a daughter of Santo Otula, the former LC1 chairperson of Oguru Village, Awach Sub-county in Gulu District, said her father was brutally murdered in broad daylight by the rebels. She said on the fateful day, with her nine siblings, they watched helplessly as the rebels fatally shot and killed their father.
In September 2014, Mr Richard Todwong, the then-NRM deputy secretary general, now secretary general of the ruling party, announced that there were plans to fully compensate local council officials who were killed during the peak of the LRA insurgency in northern Uganda.
Mr Todwong said the government was aware of killings and the loss, which the families suffered during the long, brutal war, and would do everything possible to see that the families of the deceased receive support.
However, close to 11 years later, the families of the murdered LC officials claimed that they had not received any support from the government.
Mr Gifta Aber, the chairperson of NRM for Gulu City, also urged the President to treat the issues around the Apaa land conflict and cattle compensation as matters of urgency as the country moves closer to the 2026 General Election.
Background
The The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency was a protracted conflict that was initiated by Joseph Kony against the Ugandan government. This conflict resulted in a significant humanitarian crisis, displacement, and widespread atrocities, primarily affecting the Acholi people in northern Uganda. The LRA was mostly driven out of Uganda by the middle of the 2000s, but it kept operating neighbouring countries.