Warm homecoming for Zoe Bakoko in West Nile after 15 years in exile

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There was high excitement and emotion in the West Nile region as huge crowds (earlier today) on Saturday gave a rousing welcome to former Minister of Gender and Labour, Zoe Bakoko Bakoru, who returned home after more than 15 years in exile.

Bakoko arrived at Geya Primary School playgrounds in Bijo Sub-county, Yumbe District, where the Peace Day celebrations were being held, presided over by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

The event drew huge crowds, many of whom expressed overwhelming joy at seeing their daughter return home.

People were seen hugging Bakoko, a symbolic gesture that reflected just how much she had been missed in the region.

(Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

Zoe Bakoko Bakoru (L) warmly welcomed for the event. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

Before going into exile, Bakoko played a key role in promoting peace in West Nile. As a minister, she was instrumental in persuading former fighters of the Uganda National Rescue Front II, led by the late Maj. Gen. Ali Bamuze, to lay down their arms and embrace peace.

Addressing the crowd, Bakoko emphasized the importance of safeguarding the peace that the region currently enjoys.

Zoe Bakoko Bakoru. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

“I am very excited to return here after one and a half decades,” she said. “The peace we enjoy today needs ownership. It’s what we have been yearning for over three decades.”

She urged the people of West Nile, especially the youth, to protect and value peace as a foundation for development.

“This peace was not easy to attain. No one should take it for granted,” Bakoko warned. “Cherish it, own it, and use it as a stepping stone for growth in our region.”

The return of Bakoko marks not just a personal homecoming, but a reminder of the sacrifices and efforts that have shaped the current stability in West Nile.

The Saturday event, which commemorates the 2002 peace accord between the Government and the Uganda UNRF II, attracted crowds who included cabinet ministers, senior officers of the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces, plus a delegation from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan...

President Yoweri Museveni presided over the event organised under the theme, ‘Consolidating 23 Years of Peace and Security in West Nile Region for Socio-economic Transformation.”

The peace accord, which ended decades of conflict, opened the gates for reconciliation, stability and socio-economic transformation in the West Nile region.