Kony, clear the air about the negative rumours!
Mar 13, 2007
OPEN Letter to Mr. Joseph Kony: As the Lord’s Resistance Army contemplates returning to the negotiation table in the very near future, you need to come clean on the persistent rumours that the peace talks have become big business for some members of the LRA delegation in Juba.
PERSPECTIVE OF A UGANDAN IN CANADA
Opiyo Oloya
OPEN Letter to Mr. Joseph Kony: As the Lord’s Resistance Army contemplates returning to the negotiation table in the very near future, you need to come clean on the persistent rumours that the peace talks have become big business for some members of the LRA delegation in Juba.
The allegations suggest that greed for money has quickly overtaken all considerations for peace now. The implication is that the peace talks are dragging at a snail’s pace because some members of the LRA delegations have found it lucrative to delay, complicate, and even derail the peace process in order to line their pockets. In which case, you as leader of the LRA will need to clean house in order to regain control of what is going on at the negotiation table.
At the very least, you need to set the record straight that there are no shenanigans going on at the peace talks, and that the LRA is serious about the process. Just how serious these allegations are, consider the following smoking guns: According to sources with inside information and documentation to back up the claims, substantial sums of money provided to the LRA delegation by the Peace Talks Secretariat or directly through some NGOs, have not been fully accounted for.
For instance, sources revealed that internal conflict has arisen among the LRA delegation itself as funds continue to disappear without proper accounting. In one example, over $200,000 reportedly provided by an NGO to buy food and medicines specifically for the Owiny-Kibul assembly point (this was because the LRA distrusted food provided by the government of Southern Sudan) has never been properly accounted for. Sources claim that a mere truckload of cheap foodstuff purchased by the LRA delegation remains undelivered and wasting away in Juba.
Meanwhile, a leader of the LRA delegation is reported to have recently purchased a new house in Nairobi even though there are no other visible sources of income other than the per diem being received by all the delegations, money not enough to buy a house.
Furthermore, according to other sources, the Secretariat in Juba sent $20,000 to a leader of the LRA delegation in Nairobi last month. However, according to an anonymous source within the LRA team, the LRA delegation in Nairobi was told that Juba sent only $6000, and each team member received just $300. Yet, interestingly enough, the Deputy LRA Commander was told that Juba sent $10,000.
Clearly, even if we accept the latter figure, where did the rest of the money go? Meanwhile, sources all say that an NGO offered LRA delegates $300 per diem pay if they would agitate for the switching of venue from Juba and removal of Riek Machar as Chief Mediator.
The planned pay-off ran aground when UN OCHA which manages the funds stated clearly that such an exorbitant amount was outside its mandate. The NGO quickly left Juba and has not returned.
Then there is the report that a female observer delegate facilitated by the government of Uganda promptly switched sides in Juba, and wrote a secret letter to the Secretariat demanding $200,000 ostensibly to organise the mato oput reconciliation ceremony that would signal the end of the feud between the LRA and the people of Uganda. Yet, such an undertaking would require the effort of more than one individual, and especially the go-ahead from the Acholi Paramount Chief Rwot David Onen Acana II.
No such authority was given to this delegate who in all likelihood was looking after her own self interest. As recently as a few weeks ago, two members of the Acholi community were in Khartoum purportedly to solicit assistance for the LRA.
Now, were these men acting on your behalf or on their own account? What is going on here? Who is in charge, you or those purporting to speak on your behalf? There are many other behind-the-scene issues that came up in Juba such as the insufferably arrogant behaviour of some of the LRA delegates who act like spoiled brats, and who often leave the impression that they are bigger than the LRA itself.
Now, as said at the beginning of the letter, these are mere allegations which may not have one iota of truth to them. However, the whispers are spreading like wildfire, threatening to engulf the LRA delegation. To remain credible, you need to send out very clear and unambiguous signal that peace is your real motivation. Silence will be mistaken for confirmation that the LRA is in it for the money, thereby making it easier for other stakeholders to walk away from the table.
It is up to you and the LRA leadership to instill discipline in your team. The recent appointment to LRA delegation of Dr. James Obita is a move in the right direction because he is considered by neutral observers to be an honest straight-shooter who is exceedingly polite, smart and sincere. He will add much needed integrity to the LRA team.
However, if the rumours are true, you need to shake up the LRA peace delegation to ensure that egos and greed do not get in the way of peace.
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca
Opiyo Oloya
OPEN Letter to Mr. Joseph Kony: As the Lord’s Resistance Army contemplates returning to the negotiation table in the very near future, you need to come clean on the persistent rumours that the peace talks have become big business for some members of the LRA delegation in Juba.
The allegations suggest that greed for money has quickly overtaken all considerations for peace now. The implication is that the peace talks are dragging at a snail’s pace because some members of the LRA delegations have found it lucrative to delay, complicate, and even derail the peace process in order to line their pockets. In which case, you as leader of the LRA will need to clean house in order to regain control of what is going on at the negotiation table.
At the very least, you need to set the record straight that there are no shenanigans going on at the peace talks, and that the LRA is serious about the process. Just how serious these allegations are, consider the following smoking guns: According to sources with inside information and documentation to back up the claims, substantial sums of money provided to the LRA delegation by the Peace Talks Secretariat or directly through some NGOs, have not been fully accounted for.
For instance, sources revealed that internal conflict has arisen among the LRA delegation itself as funds continue to disappear without proper accounting. In one example, over $200,000 reportedly provided by an NGO to buy food and medicines specifically for the Owiny-Kibul assembly point (this was because the LRA distrusted food provided by the government of Southern Sudan) has never been properly accounted for. Sources claim that a mere truckload of cheap foodstuff purchased by the LRA delegation remains undelivered and wasting away in Juba.
Meanwhile, a leader of the LRA delegation is reported to have recently purchased a new house in Nairobi even though there are no other visible sources of income other than the per diem being received by all the delegations, money not enough to buy a house.
Furthermore, according to other sources, the Secretariat in Juba sent $20,000 to a leader of the LRA delegation in Nairobi last month. However, according to an anonymous source within the LRA team, the LRA delegation in Nairobi was told that Juba sent only $6000, and each team member received just $300. Yet, interestingly enough, the Deputy LRA Commander was told that Juba sent $10,000.
Clearly, even if we accept the latter figure, where did the rest of the money go? Meanwhile, sources all say that an NGO offered LRA delegates $300 per diem pay if they would agitate for the switching of venue from Juba and removal of Riek Machar as Chief Mediator.
The planned pay-off ran aground when UN OCHA which manages the funds stated clearly that such an exorbitant amount was outside its mandate. The NGO quickly left Juba and has not returned.
Then there is the report that a female observer delegate facilitated by the government of Uganda promptly switched sides in Juba, and wrote a secret letter to the Secretariat demanding $200,000 ostensibly to organise the mato oput reconciliation ceremony that would signal the end of the feud between the LRA and the people of Uganda. Yet, such an undertaking would require the effort of more than one individual, and especially the go-ahead from the Acholi Paramount Chief Rwot David Onen Acana II.
No such authority was given to this delegate who in all likelihood was looking after her own self interest. As recently as a few weeks ago, two members of the Acholi community were in Khartoum purportedly to solicit assistance for the LRA.
Now, were these men acting on your behalf or on their own account? What is going on here? Who is in charge, you or those purporting to speak on your behalf? There are many other behind-the-scene issues that came up in Juba such as the insufferably arrogant behaviour of some of the LRA delegates who act like spoiled brats, and who often leave the impression that they are bigger than the LRA itself.
Now, as said at the beginning of the letter, these are mere allegations which may not have one iota of truth to them. However, the whispers are spreading like wildfire, threatening to engulf the LRA delegation. To remain credible, you need to send out very clear and unambiguous signal that peace is your real motivation. Silence will be mistaken for confirmation that the LRA is in it for the money, thereby making it easier for other stakeholders to walk away from the table.
It is up to you and the LRA leadership to instill discipline in your team. The recent appointment to LRA delegation of Dr. James Obita is a move in the right direction because he is considered by neutral observers to be an honest straight-shooter who is exceedingly polite, smart and sincere. He will add much needed integrity to the LRA team.
However, if the rumours are true, you need to shake up the LRA peace delegation to ensure that egos and greed do not get in the way of peace.
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca