Ex-Arrow Boys get package
Sep 17, 2008
THE defence ministry has spent sh700m on salary arrears for the former Arrow Boys fighters in the Teso region.
By Henry Moses Atol
THE defence ministry has spent sh700m on salary arrears for the former Arrow Boys fighters in the Teso region.
A total of 3,747 demobilised Arrow Boys personnel received each sh180,000 last week. The Government in 2007 disarmed the auxiliary forces. Some were integrated into the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF). Others were recruited into the Anti-Stock Theft Unit in order to ease the payments and have a uniform record.
The auxiliary forces were formed in Teso, Lango and Acholi regions to help the UPDF fight the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels.
The pay-team was headed by Col. Dick Olum, the commandant of Gadhafi Junior Staff College, with the help of former Arrow Boy’s commander, Robert Adiama.
The former fighters commended the Government for recalling them and appreciated the pay-team for their transparency.
Col. Olum said some of the former fighters whose names were not on the pay roll would be paid later after verification.
Adiama urged the boys to use the money to address their family needs.
THE defence ministry has spent sh700m on salary arrears for the former Arrow Boys fighters in the Teso region.
A total of 3,747 demobilised Arrow Boys personnel received each sh180,000 last week. The Government in 2007 disarmed the auxiliary forces. Some were integrated into the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF). Others were recruited into the Anti-Stock Theft Unit in order to ease the payments and have a uniform record.
The auxiliary forces were formed in Teso, Lango and Acholi regions to help the UPDF fight the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels.
The pay-team was headed by Col. Dick Olum, the commandant of Gadhafi Junior Staff College, with the help of former Arrow Boy’s commander, Robert Adiama.
The former fighters commended the Government for recalling them and appreciated the pay-team for their transparency.
Col. Olum said some of the former fighters whose names were not on the pay roll would be paid later after verification.
Adiama urged the boys to use the money to address their family needs.