Acholi pardon rebels
Jun 14, 2005
<b>GULU, Thursday</b> - The Acholi have endured the brutality by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) for nearly two decades, but they have forgiven the perpetrators of the atrocities.<br>
GULU, Thursday - The Acholi have endured the brutality by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) for nearly two decades, but they have forgiven the perpetrators of the atrocities.
“The Acholi are a peace-loving people. We do not practise the western forms of justice. If someone shows remorse for their crime, we forgive them,†Achaye Jakeo, a traditional chief who lives in Pabbo camp in Gulu, said.
The UN estimates that up to 80% of the LRA soldiers were children abducted from Acholi.
In a ceremony called mato oput (to drink a bitter potion made from the leaves of the oput tree), the prodigal sons and daughters are forgiven and welcomed back into their communities.
“Mato oput involves the man or woman accepting responsibility for their actions and repenting for crimes committed against their brothers and sisters,†Baker Ochola, bishop emeritus of the Anglican diocese of Kitgum district, said.
“They ask for the forgiveness and pay compensation, sometimes in the form of a goat or a cow, to those they have wronged,†Ochola added.
They are reintegrated into the community without cruelty or victimisation, he said.
“The LRA are not a foreign group. They are our sons and daughters, brothers killing brothers. Many of them were forced to go into the bush and become killers. How can we not forgive them?†Jakeo asked.
Ends
“The Acholi are a peace-loving people. We do not practise the western forms of justice. If someone shows remorse for their crime, we forgive them,†Achaye Jakeo, a traditional chief who lives in Pabbo camp in Gulu, said.
The UN estimates that up to 80% of the LRA soldiers were children abducted from Acholi.
In a ceremony called mato oput (to drink a bitter potion made from the leaves of the oput tree), the prodigal sons and daughters are forgiven and welcomed back into their communities.
“Mato oput involves the man or woman accepting responsibility for their actions and repenting for crimes committed against their brothers and sisters,†Baker Ochola, bishop emeritus of the Anglican diocese of Kitgum district, said.
“They ask for the forgiveness and pay compensation, sometimes in the form of a goat or a cow, to those they have wronged,†Ochola added.
They are reintegrated into the community without cruelty or victimisation, he said.
“The LRA are not a foreign group. They are our sons and daughters, brothers killing brothers. Many of them were forced to go into the bush and become killers. How can we not forgive them?†Jakeo asked.
Ends