Abandon Rebellion, Kony Tells Fighters

By Dennis OjweeTHE Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader, Joseph Kony, has directed his soldiers to quit rebellion on arrival in Uganda.Two of the fighters who reported to the UPDF base at Ngom-oromo in Kitgum near the Uganda-Sudan border, told The New Vision yesterday that Kony addressed the rebels on June 4 in a special assembly that involved prayers and rituals in southern Sudan.One of the escapees, Robert Ongiya, 25, said Kony summoned the soldiers and conducted a ritual indicating LRA’s final presence on Sudan soil.“We were summoned by Joseph Kony for prayers and rituals two days before the UPDF attacked our camp at Imakori in Southern Sudan. “He said everyone of us would be free to escape after we had entered Uganda. He said nobody should escape while on Sudan soil,” Ongiya said.Among the escapees were two breast-feeding mothers, Catherine Achayo, 15, with an 11- month-old baby, Kevin Amony and Sunday Achan, 20, with her one-year-old baby, Fiona Oroma.Other escapees were Terrence Oryema, 47, a former teacher at Kony’s Lubanga-tek camp primary school in southern Sudan, Charles Nyeko, 26, Pilot Alfred, 14, Richard Okot, 12, and Bosco Kinyera.The UPDF 4th Division commander based at Ngom-oromo, Col. Andrew Guti, said the UPDF was ready and willing to receive all the LRA fighters including their leader, Joseph Kony.Ends