Kony rejects Col. Besigye, says Pulkol
Nov 09, 2002
THE Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) chief, Joseph Kony, has rejected the involvement of former presidential candidate Col. Kizza Besigye in the northern conflict, the director general of External Security Organisation, David Pulkol, has said
THE Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) chief, Joseph Kony, has rejected the involvement of former presidential candidate Col. Kizza Besigye in the northern conflict, the director general of External Security Organisation, David Pulkol, has said, reports John Eremu
Pulkol was yesterday addressing a workshop on the conflict in northern Uganda at Hotel Africana, Kampala.
He said a serious rift had developed between Kony and Besigye’s former political assistant, James Opoka, who is fighting alongside the LRA in the north.
“Kony is saying Opoka should join and train as an LRA fighter. Kony says he cannot fight for Besigye, another Munyankole,†he said.
Pulkol said the army this week arrested four collaborators who had gone to meet Opoka in the bush. He did not elaborate.
He said Lawoko, the LRA commander who had been ambushing vehicles around Karuma and carrying out attacks in Lango, had been killed.
The workshop was organised by the Parliamentary Advocacy Forum and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
Dr. Yasin Olum of Makerere University said the 16-year-old conflict was partly fuelled by the use of bad language, perceived marginalisation of the north and the British colonial legacy of divide and rule which left country ethnically fragmented.
“The British made the northerners believe they were naturally excellent soldiers. Hence, to some soldiers from the north, the defeat by an army dominated by southerners was humiliating.
“This defeat meant that many Acholi families who depended on uniformed services, lost their largest single source of income, something they hope to regain,†Olum said.
Pulkol was yesterday addressing a workshop on the conflict in northern Uganda at Hotel Africana, Kampala.
He said a serious rift had developed between Kony and Besigye’s former political assistant, James Opoka, who is fighting alongside the LRA in the north.
“Kony is saying Opoka should join and train as an LRA fighter. Kony says he cannot fight for Besigye, another Munyankole,†he said.
Pulkol said the army this week arrested four collaborators who had gone to meet Opoka in the bush. He did not elaborate.
He said Lawoko, the LRA commander who had been ambushing vehicles around Karuma and carrying out attacks in Lango, had been killed.
The workshop was organised by the Parliamentary Advocacy Forum and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
Dr. Yasin Olum of Makerere University said the 16-year-old conflict was partly fuelled by the use of bad language, perceived marginalisation of the north and the British colonial legacy of divide and rule which left country ethnically fragmented.
“The British made the northerners believe they were naturally excellent soldiers. Hence, to some soldiers from the north, the defeat by an army dominated by southerners was humiliating.
“This defeat meant that many Acholi families who depended on uniformed services, lost their largest single source of income, something they hope to regain,†Olum said.