Bukenya replies Kony on talks

By Emmy Allio, Dennis Ojwee and Justin Moro

THE Government yesterday down-played LRA rebel demand for direct talks with President Yoweri Museveni.

A man claiming to be LRA chief Joseph Kony telephoned the Gulu-based Mega FM radio on Saturday, calling for direct talks with Museveni.

However, the Minister for the Presidency, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, who is also a member of the government negotiating team, said Kony must name negotiators. The government named its team five months ago.

Bukenya, who said Kony was just playing about with words, added, “If talks with Kony progress well and there is need for the President and Kony to meet, that can be organised.”

“The issue is Kony fulfiling conditions laid down by the Government, which include Kony naming his delegation for the talks. Kony should know that for a good peace agreement both sides must talk and the leaders only come to endorse the agreement,” Bukenya said.

Speaking in Luo, Kony said, “I have not refused any means of bringing peace but the way the Government is taking me is not good. It is not the way to bring peace. Now, you the Acholi, I want you to know that everybody is clever. If we were stupid, we would not accept Archbishop Odama and other peace envoys, including those from the Jimmy Carter Center, to come to us in the bush. We would not fight the Government which is a super power.”

“I am clever and want to bring peace. We are not fighting Acholi but fighting the Government,” he said.

Kony said as the “mother of LRM/A”, he did not want the peace talks to be taken “in the way the Ochoras were doing.”

Attorney General Francis Ayume said Kony was not serious. “Kony was given a direct phone line to the State House. Why doesn’t he use it instead of ringing the radio station?”

Ayume said the issue was the two delegations sitting down to iron out certain details of the peace deal.

Gulu district chairman Lt. Col. Walter Ochora and Gulu RDC Max Omeda said the caller was Kony. Earlier, another caller who identified himself as Vincent Otti, threatened to kill any peace envoy he came across. Ochora said the Government should respond positively to Kony’s radio talk, the first ever. He said he had sent a copy of the tape recording to Museveni.

A panelist on the programme, RDC Max Omeda, asked, “Kony, do you still remember me? I moved with you at Serere and in Teso. You have lost your people (Acholi). Why don’t you sympathise with them?”

Kony replied, “I trust everybody, even Museveni. They are all Ugandese. You people are the one spoiling the peace talks.”