Govt doubts Kony delegates
TOP government officials are doubting the credibility of the LRA delegation in Juba to negotiate a peace deal.<br>
By Emmy Allio
TOP government officials are doubting the credibility of the LRA delegation in Juba to negotiate a peace deal.
State minister for foreign affairs Henry Oryem Okello yesterday said the Government encourages the mediation efforts of Dr. Riek Machar, the vice-president of the Government of Southern Sudan.
He said the Government will only speak to a genuine LRA delegation.
A security source said the LRA delegation has only two genuine LRA members, Lt. Col. Santo Alit and Col. Leonard Bwone Lubwa.
“These came from the bush and are the right people to deal with,†the source said.
“We we shall talk with only a genuine LRA delegation,†Okello Oryem said in response to Riek’s appeal to Uganda to send a delegation to Juba where a 15-man LRA team is waiting.
Indicted LRA chiefs are Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya.
“We expect Machar to continue with his consultations.
“Once he softens the situation and is dealing with the right people, we can send a team to Juba,†the source said.
Government’s unwillingness to talk to the five indicted LRA leaders was also expressed on Wednesday, when foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa met ambassadors from the European Union.
“We are saying a genuine LRA delegation should exclude those indicted by the ICC,†Oryema insisted.
The LRA delegation named by Kony includes Crispus Ayena Odongo, a Kampala lawyer and a confessed NRM supporter who contested but lost the race for deputy Secretary General of the NRM party.
He contested on an NRM ticket for MP Oyam North. The secretary to the defence ministry and later secretary of the military commission of Tito Okello’s military junta, Col. Wilson Owiny, is on the LRA list.
Also on the list is Rock Okidi, a Uganda-turned US citizen, from New York. Okidi is at the centre of controversy between Uganda and the US. Yusuf Okongo Adek, an old man, resident of a village near the UPDF barracks in Gulu and a critic of the government.
In the 1990s, he was arrested and charged with treason, but released after serving his sentence.
Kony’s June 12 appointment reads: Martin Ojul, Rock Okidi, Peter Ongom, Otim Okullo, Chrispers Ayena Odongo, Obonyo Olweny, Justin Labenja, Joshua Otukene, Yusuf Okongo Adek, Wilson Owiny, Rei Achama, Denis Okirot, Col. Leonard Bwone Lubwa, Lt. Col. Santo Alit and Sunday Achaya.
TOP government officials are doubting the credibility of the LRA delegation in Juba to negotiate a peace deal.
State minister for foreign affairs Henry Oryem Okello yesterday said the Government encourages the mediation efforts of Dr. Riek Machar, the vice-president of the Government of Southern Sudan.
He said the Government will only speak to a genuine LRA delegation.
A security source said the LRA delegation has only two genuine LRA members, Lt. Col. Santo Alit and Col. Leonard Bwone Lubwa.
“These came from the bush and are the right people to deal with,†the source said.
“We we shall talk with only a genuine LRA delegation,†Okello Oryem said in response to Riek’s appeal to Uganda to send a delegation to Juba where a 15-man LRA team is waiting.
Indicted LRA chiefs are Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya.
“We expect Machar to continue with his consultations.
“Once he softens the situation and is dealing with the right people, we can send a team to Juba,†the source said.
Government’s unwillingness to talk to the five indicted LRA leaders was also expressed on Wednesday, when foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa met ambassadors from the European Union.
“We are saying a genuine LRA delegation should exclude those indicted by the ICC,†Oryema insisted.
The LRA delegation named by Kony includes Crispus Ayena Odongo, a Kampala lawyer and a confessed NRM supporter who contested but lost the race for deputy Secretary General of the NRM party.
He contested on an NRM ticket for MP Oyam North. The secretary to the defence ministry and later secretary of the military commission of Tito Okello’s military junta, Col. Wilson Owiny, is on the LRA list.
Also on the list is Rock Okidi, a Uganda-turned US citizen, from New York. Okidi is at the centre of controversy between Uganda and the US. Yusuf Okongo Adek, an old man, resident of a village near the UPDF barracks in Gulu and a critic of the government.
In the 1990s, he was arrested and charged with treason, but released after serving his sentence.
Kony’s June 12 appointment reads: Martin Ojul, Rock Okidi, Peter Ongom, Otim Okullo, Chrispers Ayena Odongo, Obonyo Olweny, Justin Labenja, Joshua Otukene, Yusuf Okongo Adek, Wilson Owiny, Rei Achama, Denis Okirot, Col. Leonard Bwone Lubwa, Lt. Col. Santo Alit and Sunday Achaya.