Re-examine mat'oput
Sep 18, 2011
SIX years after the end of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency in northern Uganda, revenge attacks are still occurring in the communities. Those who suffered or lost relatives during the war are revenging on former fighters and their associates.
SIX years after the end of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency in northern Uganda, revenge attacks are still occurring in the communities. Those who suffered or lost relatives during the war are revenging on former fighters and their associates.
The Government gave a chance to the traditional justice system, mat’oput, to help heal the wounds, but to-date, it has achieved little. The system, based on clans, no longer works well in the non-traditional society.
Out of over 100,000 killings in the region, only about 70 have been brought to elders for mat’oput. This is less than 0.1%. With migration and modernisation, many people find it difficult to rely on their clan leaders for redress. Some do not even know their clan leaders. Besides, mat’oput has no way of enforcing its resolutions.
Beyond the cleansing ceremony, mat’oput offers little; for instance, it does not link victims to psycho-social rehabilitation services. Many victims feel that the meagre compensation given at mat’oput, usually in form of cows, is not commensurate with what they went through. They resort to the courts of law, where their cases take long to be resolved.
It is, therefore, necessary to institute a truth and reconciliation commission. The commission should combine elements of the modern and traditional justice systems. It should give victims across the region an opportunity to express their grievances. Offenders should be given a chance to confess and ask for forgiveness. Such commissions achieved much in South Africa and Rwanda.
The commission should be linked to a post-war rehabilitation system. Traumatised people need continuous counselling, vocational training, capital and market information.
All NGOs operating in the north have either closed or significantly scaled down their activities. However, evidence from the ground indicates that the Government post-war recovery programmes have not taken root sufficiently to fill the gaps left by NGOs.
The Government gave a chance to the traditional justice system, mat’oput, to help heal the wounds, but to-date, it has achieved little. The system, based on clans, no longer works well in the non-traditional society.
Out of over 100,000 killings in the region, only about 70 have been brought to elders for mat’oput. This is less than 0.1%. With migration and modernisation, many people find it difficult to rely on their clan leaders for redress. Some do not even know their clan leaders. Besides, mat’oput has no way of enforcing its resolutions.
Beyond the cleansing ceremony, mat’oput offers little; for instance, it does not link victims to psycho-social rehabilitation services. Many victims feel that the meagre compensation given at mat’oput, usually in form of cows, is not commensurate with what they went through. They resort to the courts of law, where their cases take long to be resolved.
It is, therefore, necessary to institute a truth and reconciliation commission. The commission should combine elements of the modern and traditional justice systems. It should give victims across the region an opportunity to express their grievances. Offenders should be given a chance to confess and ask for forgiveness. Such commissions achieved much in South Africa and Rwanda.
The commission should be linked to a post-war rehabilitation system. Traumatised people need continuous counselling, vocational training, capital and market information.
All NGOs operating in the north have either closed or significantly scaled down their activities. However, evidence from the ground indicates that the Government post-war recovery programmes have not taken root sufficiently to fill the gaps left by NGOs.