Northern leaders for Juba meet

Bishop Nelson probably points towards home, Kony is expected to come out after the signing of the final agreement. File photo taken by Rev.Willy Akena


Leaders from northern Uganda are due to travel to Juba for the signing of the final peace agreement between the Lords Resistance Army and the Government.

However the signing slated for Friday has been thrown in doubt with the LRA insisting they will not sign the agreement unless indictments against its leader Joseph Kony and his commanders are dropped.

The International Criminal Court issued the warrants in 2005 against the top 5 LRA commanders for crimes against humanity in one of Africa's longest conflicts.

Finger Print Syndrome

Coupled with so many other factors, the war in the Northern region of Uganda has led to much destruction in the lives of the natives.
In my sojourns in the camps in northern Uganda as opposed to other parts of the country, the vast majority of people cannot read or write. Even children of school going age cannot speak English, leave alone read simple sentences. Even children in high schools are almost illiterate, except for the boasting that they are in High school!!!
This poses a great concern for the future of the Acoli. What will happen when tomorrow when the educated are no more? How can the Acoli compete squarely in the job market when more that 75% of them are not getting proper education? Has UPE really met its goals in the last 10 years? How about USE now? What will happen?
Children complete primary school and cannot construct even a simple sentence in English? What is happening to the education sector in this region? I will not mention the results of PLE, “O” Level and the most resent “A” Level in this region. Every thing is pathetic.
It is even worse with the women in the rural Acoli sub region. We yell of empowerment and gender sensitivity yet out of 10 women less than five can write their names. And the rest, they must be helped to sign!!! Finger prints in the 21st century, my foot!!!
It’s not enough to cry out loud. What are we doing about the finger print syndrome that has invaded our society?



Prayer breakfast at the bishop’s house

O ye foolish Galatians (Amuru Leaders)! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified Galatians 3:1 was a quotation that the Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Uganda, the Rt. Rev. Nelson Onono-Onweng made on Thursday 28 Feb 2008 morning during a prayer breakfast at his residence.

Amuru District Leaders were advised to bury their political differences and begin to serve their people. After one and a half years in leadership, they have spent time fighting each other over non substantial issues. It was time they begun working at making straight paths, filling every valley, leveling the mountains and hill, crooked roads be made straight, rough ways smooth, so that the people see the salvation of God.

Bishop Nelson urged them to listen to the crying voice “the voice of the displaced people who are returning home, can they be given a chance to return in peace, but the people will not have peace if there is no peace among their leaders at the District”.
Mr. Omac, the LCV Chairman acknowledged that as leaders, they had spent time fighting each other in the council instead of serving the felt needs of people and on behalf of his other fellow leaders, he apologized for all that had gone wrong. He promised that they would begin to work in unity.

Bishop Nelson given send off

Mwaka George of Radio Mega hands over the gift to Bishop Nelson and Brenda Onono. Photo by Rev.Willy Akena


Bishop Nelson given send off

The displaced Christian of Nwoya Parish on Sunday February 24, 2008 gave Bishop Nelson a good send off gift of one cow at the cost of 300,000 and two sacks of groundnuts.

Nwoya is the third parish that Bishop Nelson has already visited on his diocese wide tour, the other being Bungatira his home village, where he received 260,000, a goat and one sack of groundnuts and Patiko Ajulu gave him one cow.

In his message the Bishop called upon the Christian to grow; physically, spiritually, socially and economically. Quoting from the Gospel of Luke 2: 52, “And Jesus grew in wisdom, and stature, and in favour with God and men.”

The Bishop called upon the people to leave the camps now and go back to their villages in order to farm the land and therefore come out of poverty.
On the LRA war the bishop said the war is over and that people should no longer have fear of LRA coming back to perturb them.

On the land issue the Bishop said, people should not be hot and bothered about the land being taken over by Madhvani but instead descend to work.

He also called upon the people to go back to where they came from before the camp life so as to minimize the land conflict that is so rampant.

West Ankole Women electrify Gulu.

At least 51 members of the Mothers’ Union from the Diocese of West Ankole are in the diocese of Northern Uganda for a four days solidarity visit. The team is led by the Wife of the Bishop of West Ankole Mrs. Ellyvaida Nshemeire Katonene. The team was welcomed by excited members of the Mothers Union from the Diocese of Northern Uganda and Bishop Nelson Onono-Onweng.

The team is expected to visit camps of the Displaced People in Northern Uganda and have time to pray with their counterpart in various churches on Sunday before they travel back on Monday.

In her message to the women in Northern Uganda, the Mothers Union President of West Ankole Mrs. Ellyvaida said, “I want to encourage them to work as one body and if they are together they will forget the past and look for the future. God is with them.”

The team brought a number of items that includes more than 10 sacks of old clothes, millet and maize flour.

The situation in Gulu at the moment is of relative peace due to the ongoing peace talk in Juba and a good number of the displaced persons are leaving the camps for their original villages after 21 years. The need to resettle them is huge, we appeal to well-wishers to come in and give a helping hand.

Cleric appeal to Kony

Religious leaders march through Gulu town before praying at Kaunda Grounds
By Dennis Ojwee

ACHOLI religious leaders have asked the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) chief, Joseph Kony, to stop fighting and resume peace negotiations in Juba. The call was made by the Gulu district Khadi, Sheikh Musa Khalil, during the end-of-year peace prayers at Kaunda Grounds.

Referring to last week’s reports that the LRA attacked a Catholic mission in the DR Congo, Khalil asked Kony to restrain his men from targeting civilians.

Other religious leaders present were the Anglican bishop of northern Uganda, the Rt. Rev. Nelson Onono-Onweng, retired Kitgum diocese bishop McLeod Baker Ochola, the vicar-general of Gulu Catholic archdiocese, Monsignor Matthew Odong and Orach from the Orthodox Church.

They also prayed for restoration of peace in Kenya following election violence and in Pakistan where the opposition party leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated recently. Ochola prayed that Bhutto’s killers be brought to book.