Kony snubs UN special envoy Chissano
Oct 22, 2007
UN special envoy Joachim Chissano failed to meet LRA leader Joseph Kony or his deputy, Vincent Otti, during his visit to Ri-Kwangba yesterday. On the day he was supposed to be in London to receive a prestigious $5m leadership award, the former Mozambican president waited in vain at the assembly poin
By Chris Ocowun
UN special envoy Joachim Chissano failed to meet LRA leader Joseph Kony or his deputy, Vincent Otti, during his visit to Ri-Kwangba yesterday. On the day he was supposed to be in London to receive a prestigious $5m leadership award, the former Mozambican president waited in vain at the assembly point in South Sudan.
Chissano won a new $5-million prize for African leadership on Monday and was hailed as "a powerful voice for Africa on the international stage". He was only able to meet the LRA peace team, led by Martin Ojul, which had travelled from Juba to consult the commanders on the way forward for the peace talks.
Chissano was told that the LRA commanders could not make it because some rivers had flooded due to torrential rains.
The failure of the LRA leadership to show up comes amid reports that Kony and Otti have fallen out, and that several top commanders have defected.
The LRA operations commander, Opiyo Makasi, surrendered to the Congolese authorities on October 9 and is still being held at the military intelligence headquarters in Kinshasa.
By press time yesterday, the Ugandan envoy had still not obtained access to him or his 18-year old wife, only identified as Nora. Makasi, who was among the first groups to travel to the Central African Republic, reportedly to collect weapons from the Khartoum government, is believed to have a lot of information.
Meanwhile, Makasi’s relatives in Gulu have reacted with a mixture of joy and disbelief to the news of his surrender.
“I am extremely happy about the wise decision my son has taken to quit rebellion,†his paternal uncle, Tony Walter Onena, told The New Vision at his Gulu home yesterday.
“If it is true, we need maximum protection for him so that he returns home to rejoin the family.â€
He pleaded for Makasi to be granted amnesty, like the other former LRA commanders, arguing that he had been a victim of abduction.
Onena narrated that since Makasi was abducted with his three brothers some time in 1986, they had not heard from them, until 1990 when a former abductee informed him that they were all dead.
“We performed the last funeral rites of Makasi, his brothers and their father George William Onyinge in 1992,†he said.
Onena only discovered Makasi was alive when he was invited to join a confidence- building mission by Acholi leaders to Garamba in July 2006.
“He was introduced to me by some former LRA commanders. I could not even recognise him. I had last seen him in 1986 when he was only 12 years old and now he was 32.â€
When he pleaded with Makasi to return home, the latter replied that he was ready to denounce rebellion but needed assurances about his security.
“Now that he has surrendered, my elders will sit down and decide on what traditional ritual to perform to cleanse him,†Onena said.
Additional reporting by Henry Mukasa
UN special envoy Joachim Chissano failed to meet LRA leader Joseph Kony or his deputy, Vincent Otti, during his visit to Ri-Kwangba yesterday. On the day he was supposed to be in London to receive a prestigious $5m leadership award, the former Mozambican president waited in vain at the assembly point in South Sudan.
Chissano won a new $5-million prize for African leadership on Monday and was hailed as "a powerful voice for Africa on the international stage". He was only able to meet the LRA peace team, led by Martin Ojul, which had travelled from Juba to consult the commanders on the way forward for the peace talks.
Chissano was told that the LRA commanders could not make it because some rivers had flooded due to torrential rains.
The failure of the LRA leadership to show up comes amid reports that Kony and Otti have fallen out, and that several top commanders have defected.
The LRA operations commander, Opiyo Makasi, surrendered to the Congolese authorities on October 9 and is still being held at the military intelligence headquarters in Kinshasa.
By press time yesterday, the Ugandan envoy had still not obtained access to him or his 18-year old wife, only identified as Nora. Makasi, who was among the first groups to travel to the Central African Republic, reportedly to collect weapons from the Khartoum government, is believed to have a lot of information.
Meanwhile, Makasi’s relatives in Gulu have reacted with a mixture of joy and disbelief to the news of his surrender.
“I am extremely happy about the wise decision my son has taken to quit rebellion,†his paternal uncle, Tony Walter Onena, told The New Vision at his Gulu home yesterday.
“If it is true, we need maximum protection for him so that he returns home to rejoin the family.â€
He pleaded for Makasi to be granted amnesty, like the other former LRA commanders, arguing that he had been a victim of abduction.
Onena narrated that since Makasi was abducted with his three brothers some time in 1986, they had not heard from them, until 1990 when a former abductee informed him that they were all dead.
“We performed the last funeral rites of Makasi, his brothers and their father George William Onyinge in 1992,†he said.
Onena only discovered Makasi was alive when he was invited to join a confidence- building mission by Acholi leaders to Garamba in July 2006.
“He was introduced to me by some former LRA commanders. I could not even recognise him. I had last seen him in 1986 when he was only 12 years old and now he was 32.â€
When he pleaded with Makasi to return home, the latter replied that he was ready to denounce rebellion but needed assurances about his security.
“Now that he has surrendered, my elders will sit down and decide on what traditional ritual to perform to cleanse him,†Onena said.
Additional reporting by Henry Mukasa