Tag Archives: Ombaci

34 years later: more questions on Ombaci

By Stephen Ssenkaaba

Thirty-Four years since the Ombaci massacre in the Northern Uganda district of Arua, more questions than answers abound.

As victims, their families and leaders in Arua came together this year to commemorate the massacre in which the Uganda National Liberation Army(UNLA) soldiers-in pursuit of Uganda army rebels- killed more than 100 innocent civilians- concerns over reparation, reconciliation and the plight of several poor survivors still linger.

“We hope that finally something can be done to address these issues,” Stephen Acidri, the coordinator of a recently founded Ombaci Massacres Survivors Association said.

The Massacre

On Wednesday, June 24, 1981 UNLA soldiers rounded up Arua town in pursuit of rebels and former soldiers of the Uganda Army.

This brought about tension.

“The soldiers attacked homes, looted property and drove us from our homes,” 84 year old Ismail Saidi, a survivor, said.

In order to escape the wrath of the soldiers, Saidi and many people sought refuge inside the premises of St. Joseph’s college Ombaci and the Catholic Mission nearby.

“It is while hiding here for our lives that we were attacked by the soldiers who thought we were concealing rebels and or collaborating with them,” Saidi, who lost a daughter and two nephews recalls.

“They came into the store where we were hiding and showered us with bullets, they went into the carpentry, the church and other places around the school and the mission killing people.”

After about four hours of shooting, nearly 100 people were dead and several others injured and abandoned at a makeshift camp that had been erected by the Red Cross.

No amends

Since the massacre, Acidri says very little has been done to heal the wounds of one of the most brutal attacks on innocent civilians in Uganda’s recent history.

“Not much has been done to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to book. No efforts have been taken to establish a truth and reconciliation process to facilitate the healing in this attack that hurt so many people and divided communities. What’s more, there has been no attempt to establish responsibility for these crimes,” Acidri says.

On the ground in Arua, many people claiming to be survivors are coming up and seeking to be compensated. And yet, without clear mechanisms to authenticate the claimants, the identification process risks being taken advantage of. Serious doubts also remain over any plans to hold perpetrators accountable for the human rights abuses that were committed in this gruesome murder.

Poor documentation

The Uganda Human Rights Commission has made recent visits to the site where the massacre took place but has yet to come up with a comprehensive report.

However, a 2013 report by the Justice and Reconciliation project (JRP) indicates that the government soldiers at the time (UNLA) violated international law for which the government of Uganda is still responsible.

“The murders and looting clearly amount to crimes against humanity…” says the report which adds: “What makes the Ombaci massacre such an agregious violation was the deliberate targeting of civilians, a religious mission and of clergy and International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC) personnel, who are explicitly protected in instances of non-international armed conflict such as this one under Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war.”

Rt. Rev Fredrick Drandua, the retired bishop of Arua Catholic Diocese- who was an influential leader in Arua at the time of the massacre says that for all the atrocities that took place then, “there is need for all of us to rise above the bad days and forge ahead by doing good, forgiving and forgetting.”

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/671542-34-years-later-more-questions-on-ombaci.html

It Was Only The Gun Speaking launched in Arua

Survivors of the Ombaci massacre of 1981, 24 June 2014
Survivors of the Ombaci massacre of 1981, 24 June 2014

 

On 24 June 2014, JRP attended the second annual memorial of the Ombaci Massacre of 1981 at the Ombaci Catholic Mission, Arua in the West Nile sub-region of northern Uganda. The event, organised by members of the Ombaci War Victim’s Association, consisted of a memorial prayer led by the Bishop of Arua diocese, the Rt. Rev. Sabino Odoki, and a follow-up event, which included presentations by survivors of the massacre. In his speech, Bishop Odoki called upon the people to speak out against oppression, crimes and human rights violations. He also called for reconciliation among the peoples of West Nile, and with those outside of the sub-region. He also identified the trauma that still exists for victims of massacres like those in Ombaci as needing to be addressed.

The event was also attended by Bernard Atiku, the Member of Parliament for Ayivu county in Arua, who pledged to work with the survivors group to improve the massacre memorial site, as well as the Arua Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Peter Debele, among others.

The event concluded with the launch of JRP’s 20th Field Note It Was Only the Gun Speaking, With a Pool of Blood Flowing: the Ombaci Massacre  June 24, 1981.

 

 

It Was Only the Gun Speaking, With a Pool of Blood Flowing The Ombaci Massacre: June 24, 1981

It Was Only the Gun Speaking, With a Pool of Blood Flowing: The Ombaci Massacre: June 24, 1981 JRP Field Note 20, June 2014
It Was Only the Gun Speaking, With a Pool of Blood Flowing: The Ombaci Massacre: June 24, 1981
JRP Field Note 20, June 2014

Located just 4 kilometres north-west of Arua town on the Kaya Highway/Rhino Camp Road, in Arua District is Ombaci College. On Wednesday, June 24, 1981, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) attacked civilians who had taken refuge at Ombaci Colleges, claiming the lives of close to 100 people and leaving countless wounded.

This report presents a detailed account of what took place during the Ombaci Massacre and the lasting effect it has had on the survivors based on individual interviews and focus group discussions with survivors and relatives of the victims.

The massacre was by all accounts extremely chaotic, with groups of soldiers entering from all sides of the school and mission, and roving from room to room shooting and looting. This highlights the challenges survivors continue to face and make a number of recommendations which arose from our interviews, chiefly a call for compensation of survivors, as well as support for livelihoods, education, and reconciliation.

Read the entire report here:

Ombaci (English)

Ombaci (Lugbara)