Amnesty Woos Acholi Prodigals Out Of The Bush

Mar 18, 2003

In 2001, the Government Amnesty Commission opened its regional office in Gulu to help receive and resettle rebels who surrendered. Former CA/NRC member Mary M. Oker heads the office. <b>Dennis Ocwich</b> interviewed her on the response of LRA rebels towards Amnesty.

QUESTION: You have been on the ground for the last two years. What have you done so far? Are the rebels really willing to lay down their arms?

ANSWER: We are trying our best. But when you talk about the willingness of the rebels, you have to focus on the high command, especially Joseph Kony himself and Vincent Otii. From our sources (those who surrender), these two are very hard. They don’t want anybody to know what they are thinking. Whereas the ordinary fighters (most of them having been abducted) are willing to surrender, the top commanders appear adamant. Kony wants to cling to fighting. That is the typical behaviour of the LRA high command. Kony is a shrewd dictator like Idi Amin and he is the only road-block to peace in Northern Uganda.
In 1994, I was one of those who accompanied Minister Betty Bigombe to meet Kony in the bush (during the aborted peace talks). We met Kony, but I did not understand his demands; he spoke to us in tongues.

But how many rebels have so far responded to the Amnesty, if you can estimate?

So far we have had 400 rebels who surrendered and have been resettled. Besides that, we have also had 800 abductees (children abducted and conscripted into fighting ranks). That makes up to 1,200 people so far resettled through the Amnesty Commission since 2001.

Roughly how many rebel commanders have so far turned themselves in?

In total, 15 commanders have since come out and all of them are not Acholi. Three came from West Nile, with two from Teso and two Baganda.
The highest in rank was Col. Sururu. They were treated well and accommodated in hotels for some time. They also met the President. Some of them have been absorbed into the UPDF, with their ranks being recognised and retained. One of them, Maj. Okello (nicknamed Oneko-Mon-ki-Koko) who earlier surrendered with 16 others in 2001, was last month commissioned by the President. The UPDF is encouraging them, especially the commanders, to join the army.
But some of them don’t want to join the army. They want to be rehabilitated and resettled into civilian life. That is what the commission has been doing for the last two years.

What does the Commission give them?

Those who report are given cash and other packages. Each ordinary fighter gets a total package of sh500,000 (including sh350,000 cash and sh150,000 worth of items like jerrycans, blankets, hoes and seeds). The common combatants are content with the package but their commanders have bigger demands. They are being treated slightly differently from other combatants. These people get spoilt; when you give them something, they demand more. They have discussed their demands with the President. Maybe other promises are still in the pipeline.
In addition, we also train those who report in various income-generating skills in the field of their choice, such as mechanics, bicycle repairing, carpentry, tailoring and brick-laying. After training, they are then given tool kits.

In terms of cost, how much money have you so far spent on that?
I don’t have the figures right now with me, because the donor money is channelled directly to organisations like World Vision, KICWA and GUSCO, which are charged with counselling, rehabilitating and resettling the ex-fighters.

Some people would think by paying something to ex-rebels, it would appear as a reward that could encourage other people to go into the bush. Do you agree?
No! No! What we are doing is not a reward, but just entandikwa (a start-up loan) to enable the former rebels to start a new life within the community without again destabilising the peace. We are not buying them, but we are trying to lure them out of the bush.
Those who want to continue with formal education are taken back to school. We don’t want them to revert to using the gun.

Some time back there was rumour that the Amnesty Act of 2000 was about to expire. Is it still valid?
The Amnesty law is there to stay. It’s only the Amnesty Commission which has to be renewed after every six months if desirable. The last time it was renewed was in November last year.

Do you think the rebels know about the Amnesty Act?
When Kony learnt of the Amnesty, he confiscated and destroyed all radios in the hands of his fighters, so that they could not get any information about it. Slowly by slowly, the information is trickling down to them and there has been quite a good response.
We also have a radio programme (on amnesty) which runs on Mega FM every Saturday from 5:00-6:00pm.
What do you feel is the major fear that is stopping the rebels from laying down their arms?
Their major worry is that they have committed a lot of atrocities against the population, so they fear reprisals.
But since we started preaching the message of peace and reconciliation (called Mato Oput in Acholi), the response has been better. The local community is very willing to reconcile and forgive the rebels as long as they stop fighting. So, we appeal to the rebels to take advantage of the amnesty.
We also have former fighters who use our FM Radios here to appeal to the rebels to stop the war.

Finally, in your view, has the Amnesty contributed in anyway towards the northern peace process?
The Amnesty was food given to us on a golden platter which should have brought an end to this war.
The whole idea of amnesty is to peacefully resolve conflict. But it has not been possible to end this war, partly because we the Acholi ourselves are not united. We are all speaking different things. This, to me, is what is confusing Kony. If we were united, we would end the war in one day.
But now that Government peace team and religious and cultural leaders are on the ground, we must all speak with one voice and lobby Kony so that he adheres to cease-fire and peace talks.
All these local peace fora (Acholi religious, cultural and district leaders’ peace associations etc) must support the government peace team. They should all be consulted and used maximally.
We all must avoid suspicion and fear of one another. Kony is our prodigal son who we must woo to come back home, so that we have peace. Ends

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