Spiritual Warfare Can End Kony War

By Caroline Lamwaka A lot has been written on why the war in northern Uganda has dragged on for the last 15 years, but the spiritual aspect of the war has been ignored. Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, (LRA), like Alice Lakwena’s Holy Spirit Mobile Force, is based on spirituality. This has sustained the LRA for a long time as a coherent force.Church leaders who have spoken to The New Vision have acknowledged this spiritual aspect of Kony and its initial impact on the population. Kony, said to have been brought up within the Catholic Church as a lay leader, initially joined a UPDA “black” battalion at Awach, northeastern Gulu, as a spiritual mobiliser under Major Benjamin Apia. After Major Apia died at a fierce battle at Cwero around April 1987, Kony then took over full control of this battalion, hence the formation of his rebel movement, now called the Lord’s Resistance Army.At the initial stages of the war, Kony carried out more mobilisations than abductions. His “Holy Spirit Movement” sprung up as a kind of spiritual revival movement, with lots of singing and prayers to God. Many ordinary people, especially the youth, joined it. However, after learning that it was a mixture of religion, tradition and superstition, some of the people abandoned it. Others who tried to escape were punished with death.James Kidega, a Bachelor of Commerce graduate, who I met in April 1988, genuinely believed in the Spirit(s) in Kony. He said the Holy Spirit had been fighting for peace to prevail in the country and that the fighting was in line with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He said the leaders of the Holy Spirit movements, like Joseph Kony, Alice Lakwena and Severino Okoya (Alice’s father) were all oracles, with Lakwena (messenger) as their leader. Today, although it is rumoured that the “spirit” has long since left Kony, there are still many members of the LRA who believe in the “Spirit” in Kony. Some think that the Spirit sees through them, and so they cannot escape or question the movement. Meanwhile, away from the practices of Christian religion, Kony also practiced traditional African religion. John Taremugu, a Catholic priest, Father of the Verona Fathers, based in the Gulu Catholic Diocese in 1988, noted that many people became susceptible to fanatical devotion to “the divine power” at a time when fighting was fierce. The people were looking for guidance and ways to alleviate their suffering.He said: “The birth of the revival movement was instigated by the strong affinity for religion and God at the same time as a means of alleviating their plight. But this apparent mixture of religion and tradition created much confusion. They got mixed up in what is religion and what is superstition.”The priest acknowledged that the spiritual gap could have arisen out of the failure on the part of the church) to deliver the “true message” of Christ in a “positive manner”, leading to a void and the birth of the movement. He said many Christians had joined the movement, but realised that they had joined a wrong group and abandoned it. Taremugu suggested that the Church stress the element of “reconciliation within the context of communion” as liberation theology because “this has been a situation of a desire for peace by using violence.”Deserters of Kony said the movement had over 20 spirits involved in carrying out specific duties. “Who are you...who can compete with God?” asks the operations commander, also known as Jim Briggins. Pastor Chris Kumagum of Kampala Pentecostal Church (KPC), who comes from northern Uganda has noted: “The truth of the matter is, there is a spiritual aspect to the movement. How it started, their rituals, the practices before they go to fight. Also the kind of warfare they are fighting. “Whether you are just an innocent, common man, young or old, male or female and you have nothing to do with government, you are also killed. They don’t mind who is who. Since LRA is a spiritual Movement in essence, many people easily identify with it, and innocently become committed and dedicated to this cause. So to stamp out a physical war, which has a spiritual origin using physical weapons is not easily achievable because the people who are fighting in this war believe that they are fighting for a just cause and God is with them. They are bold, brave and daring because they believe they are fighting for God. They fight wars in the name of God, and yet the true God says; ‘no, don’t kill.” “The only way to counteract this thing is not just by going boldly to Kony. The government has to swallow her pride and call for a day of national fasting, prayer and repentance before God and this should not just be done religiously. Our leaders must humble themselves. If there is a problem, they need to go back to God who placed them there in the first place, according to Romans 13:1. Then that would be the beginning of the breakthrough. Once God is pleased with us, he can change the heart of Kony,” he continues.Father Tarcisio Agostoni of the Comboni missionaries, who has written several articles on the spiritual aspects of Joseph Kony and Alice Lakwena’s movement said in a bid to counteract Kony’s spirituality, the Catholic Church in northern Uganda intensified the training of youths in youth organisations like crusaders, young Christian student and legion of Mary in small Christian communities. He says: “In all Christian communities, we try to make the participation in the Holy mass lively. We try to get the young men to undertake development and to reject war.” Agostoni said the Church has trained catechists in every diocese. There are also other movements like Christ Communion and Life, Focolari, charismatics renewals, among others, all meant to counteract the spirituality within the LRA. Church leaders however agree that the impact of Kony’s spirituality on the population in Acholi is much less today than it was when the movement first sprung up.Ends