IDP close

Following the relative peace that has been enjoyed by the people in northern Uganda for the last two years, a good number are returning to their original homes. According to a survey carried out by the District recently over 80% have returned to their home in Gulu District. It has also been found out that those who are not able to support themselves are still in the camps the category includes; orphans, widows, disable as well as old people.
In another related development, some of those who were in the Lord's Resistance Army are finding life difficult, some of them cannot go back home for fear that the community may not accept them. Part of the reason for this negative feeling is based on some accusation of being involved in abduction in own village during the war. One of those I spoke to told me “our land has been taken away by some people I fear to argue with them"

Reports from Kitgum say, District authorities last week launched the phase-out of the internally displaced people’s (IDP) camps. This was to facilitate people’s return to their original homes. Speaking at the launch at Labongo Amida IDP camp in Chua County, the deputy resident district commissioner, Sylvester Opira, said the phase-out followed assessment and recommendations by the district disaster management committee. “In Amida camp, over 80% of the population has already left the camps near their home villages. The remaining 20% comprises the elderly, disabled and children,” Opira said

ICC inquires on Congo’s Kony pursuit

New Vision Thursday, 23rd October, 2008

By John Odyek

THE International Criminal Court (ICC) has asked for the steps the DR Congo has taken in pursuing the indicted leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

In 2005, the ICC sought for the arrest of the LRA’s top leaders who were hiding in the DR Congo’s Garamba National Park.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ICC stated that it needed the information by November 17.

Kony and his top commanders have been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“On September 27 2005 the requests for (the) arrest and surrender of Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen, were submitted to the DR Congo, following information from Uganda that the LRA had been based in that country for more than three years, specifically in Garamba National Park,” the statement read.

The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II noted that Article 87 (7) of the Rome Statute, provides that when a state party fails to comply with a request to cooperate, the Court may make a finding to that effect and refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties.

“The Chamber ordered the Registrar to promptly transmit the request to the Government of the Congo,” the statement read.

Uganda referred the situation to the court on January 29 2004. The ICC prosecutor opened an investigation on 29 July 2004.

A Conservative-led resolution calling for Uganda to resume its efforts to bring Kony to the ICC was passed on Tuesday by the Members of the European Parliament at a sitting in France.

The resolution, authored by a member of UK’s Conservatives and a Member of the European Parliament, Nirj Deva, is critical of Uganda’s halting of efforts to capture Kony.

The warlord is accused of 33 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. “Peace and reconciliation cannot be achieved for the LRA’s victims until Kony stands in the dock and answers the allegations.

The Ugandan government and other governments in the region, especially the DR Congo must step up efforts to capture Kony and deliver him to the ICC, which will decide whether it is appropriate for him to stand trial in Uganda,” Deva said.

The UN estimates that the LRA has kidnapped 20,000 children in the past two decades, turning the boys into soldiers and the girls into sex slaves.

In April, Kony did not appear to sign the final peace deal in South Sudan.

Wanted gang leader surrenders

Simon Wokorach the self-styled leader of the Tumbafu (Group of the stupid) unit that has allegedly been leading strikes in schools, terrorising teachers, raping schoolgirls and threatening the returned communities, surrendered to the Gulu district authorities through the Rev.Willy Akena on Wednesday 24, September 2008.
Wokorach, who has been on the list of the wanted persons by the security in Northern Uganda, came out of his hideout at the Sudan-Uganda border where he had taken refuge. Wokorach dropped out of school in 2005 due to lack of school fees and resorted to these dirty activities. He has been granted scholarship by Invisible Children for his education up to University. We have so many young people like Wokorach who drop out of school due to inability to raise fees and other scholastic requrements.

NETSFORLIFE LAUNCHED

strong>Marching during the launch of the NETSFORLIFE

Rev. Solomon Okeny climb the motorcycle as Norbert Mao (R) looks on




The Diocese of Northern Uganda together with Standard Chartered Bank on 9th August 2008 launched the NETFOR LIFE at Kaunda ground Gulu.
The Gulu Local Council Chairman V Norbert Mao while officiating at the launch thanked the Church for spearheading provision of social services in addition to preaching the word of God. Mao Said “A good number of schools and health centres in the district are church founded”. He applauded the church for being agents of giving instead of always receiving, saying there is more blessing in giving than receiving.

Mao appealed to other Bank to emulate Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) by giving back to the community. Mao illustrated the importance of giving by saying in the Middle East there are two water bodies: - the sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, both seas receive water from the same source-river Jordan but only Sea of Galilee gives out and that is why it remains fresh unlike dead sea that only receives but does not give out thus remain dead. Therefore it’s more blessing to give than receive. He therefore said Standard Chartered Bank will grow because of giving back to the community. He called upon other banks to emulate SCB

The Representative of the Chief Executive Officer Standard Chartered Bank said there are 300 million cases of malaria in the world, 90% of deaths from malaria, every 30 seconds, an African child dies of this disease, it costs Africa more than USD 12 billion a year in terms of lost GDP and currently there are no vaccines for malaria and none are expected in the foreseeable future.



The CEO representative said that based on these facts , at its board meeting on 22nd November, 2005 the community Partnership for Africa (CPA) Board approved an Africa region community partnership project supporting the distribution of 1 million specially treated bed nets for the next 3 years in 17 African countries, Uganda being one of them. He furthered said Standard Chartered Bank’s (Group) is committed towards the project to provide funding of USD 1 million towards the project over a period of 3 years (2006-8) or around USD 350,000 each year and leading the marketing and communication work stream.

The Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Uganda, Nelson Onono-Onweng said the Diocese is aware of the danger of malaria, HIV/AIDS, and life threatening Hepatitis E that has claimed the lives of so many people in Northern Uganda and committed in implementing life saving programs like malaria prevention by using all possible means to educate the community on the prevention of the communicable diseases using non cost means. The Bishop said one of the roles of the church is to heal her people both spiritually and physically.

Standard Chartered Bank pledges their support in the implementation of NETSFORLIFE.
A total of 6500 pieces of mosquito nets, 10 bicycles and a motorcycle were handed over to the Diocese of Northern Uganda.

The target group for the nets will be: - children under 5 years of age, pregnant women and the elderly and chronically sick (people living with AIDS)

Government forgives top Kony rebel

Dr.James Obita


Government forgives top Kony rebel
Tuesday, 5th August, 2008

Dr. James Alfred Obita
By Milton Olupot and Charles Ariko

THE former leader of the LRA peace team in Juba, Dr. James Alfred Obita, was yesterday granted amnesty after 22 years of fighting the Government.

Obita said he returned because he believed in what the Juba peace agreement had achieved.

“After the peace talks, I thought I would set an example. My returning is not a betrayal (of the LRA cause). It is time to come back home,” he said.

Together with five others, two men and three women of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Obita received his amnesty certificate from the chairman of the Amnesty Commission, Justice Peter Onega, at the commission headquarters in Kampala.

The former ADF fighters included Silver Mumbere, Fatuma Nakajubi, Hanifa Nalukwago, Sularia Nakimera and Abdlazak Bassajja. They looked well nourished and smartly dressed.

Obita raised the number of LRA rebels who have benefited from the amnesty to 12,841, since the establishment of the Amnesty Commission in 2000. A total of 22,921 fighters from various rebel groups have benefited from the amnesty.

“My word to you is that you are welcome back to Uganda. Help us convince the others to come back home. The choice you have made is a correct one. Wherever you go, home will always be the best,” Onega told the six former rebels.

Onega, flanked by commissioners Ganyana Miiro, Thomas Kisembo and Grace Ociiti, explained that the amnesty exonerates them from any crimes they committed during the rebellion.

“I have always said this country is ours and everybody has a right to live here. If we have any problems, we can solve them here. I can assure you that after the grant of amnesty, you will be free people. Feel free and you are welcome to start life afresh,” he said.

A beaming Obita, clad in a grey, striped suit, commended the commission and pledged to work with Onega to help woo LRA fighters out of the jungles and end the 22-year-long war that has ravaged the north and eastern parts of the country.

“I will use my presence here to convince those still in the bush to return home. I will be the commission’s ambassador,” he said.

He added that the commission should be strengthened and facilitated to look after returnees.

The six received packages, including a mattress, jerrycan, two saucepans, a plastic cup and plate, a hoe, packets of beans and maize seeds and sh263,000 each.

Obita said President Yoweri Museveni had directed the internal affairs permanent secretary to help him recover $2m (about sh3.5b) that he lost when the Government froze his Uganda Commercial Bank account in 1987.

Obita said he was convinced that the Juba agreement was good and achieved what the guns could not achieve. He blamed some Ugandans both at home and in the Diaspora for misleading the LRA leader, Joseph Kony, not to sign the final peace agreement.

Obita said he wanted “to sort” himself out shortly before he could travel to his home district of Kitgum.

Commenting on the LRA former commanders, who returned through the DR Congo and are reportedly still held by security agencies, Onega said after receiving amnesty, there was no justification for detaining the former rebels.

“We were surprised when we received the information that some of these ex-rebels were being kept by security agencies. If you receive amnesty, that means you are free. If there are any other charges then they should be taken to court. Let this not confuse the public that when you get amnesty, you get detained.”

Who is Obita?
- Obita has been with the LRA for the last 22 years.
- He worked for the external wing of the LRA, based in Nairobi and London.
- Was the LRA spokesperson in the mid-nineties and later secretary for external affairs and mobilisation.
- In 1988, he fell out with LRA chief Joseph Kony, who accused him of trying to make money out of the LRA cause.
- Was re-appointed as technical adviser to the LRA peace team in Juba in 2006.
- Obita replaced David Matsanga as chairman of the LRA team in Juba on April 10 2008.
- He applied for amnesty in July 2008.