Tag Archives: in the news

“Curbing violence against women is everyone’s task,” Daily Monitor, 1 November 2010

In the News, , , ,

 “Curbing violence against women is everyone’s task,” Daily Monitor, 1 November 2010

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/-/689364/1044056/-/13u0io8z/-/index.html

By Lino Owor Ogora

 

I read with interest a press release by MIFUMI, a renowned women activist organisation, in Daily Monitor of October 27. MIFUMI accused the Police of further victimising women who take steps to defend themselves when confronted with sexual and domestic violence.

Some of these women went as far as killing their perpetrators. While MIFUMI’s concern is genuine regarding the fact that perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence are often not brought to book, while their victims are victimised through detention, I think they missed the point regarding the role of the Police.

Furthermore, the examples used in this press release may not be necessarily suitable as examples in the fight against domestic violence. There was the example of a woman called Koriang who allegedly shot and killed her husband with 30 rounds of ammunition as he slept.

Another example they used was of a woman called Mbabazi who sent a radio announcement claiming she had died yet in actual fact, she was alive. In another controversial example, they sympathised with a woman called Nuuru Namatovu, who buried baby dolls and was arrested by police on allegations of giving false information.

Another example used, and one I would sympathise with, is of a 14-year-old girl called Mpigiki, who killed a 40-year-old man who attempted to defile her. As expected of them, even in the case of Mpagiki, the Police responded in all the above situations and did what the law required of them – to arrest the suspects, detain them and wait for court to determine their destiny.

The Police acted responsibly and within the law. In the wake of a serious crime such as murder or manslaughter, the fact remains that the perpetrator is considered a killer first, before the facts and circumstances under which the crime was committed are analysed.

In the case of Koriang, the fact remains that she killed her husband using a gun and 30 rounds of ammunition. In analysing her case, the first and most obvious fact is that she is a killer. On further analysis, she was driven to the limits to do so because she could not stomach her husband’s abuse any longer. What did MIFUMI, therefore, expect the Police to do? To pick her up and deliver her to FIDA offices for counselling? Did her husband have to pay with his life?

While I agree that there is need to address the root causes of violence against women, I do not agree with MIFUMI’s allegation that the Police are victimising women who are in trouble with the law by detaining them.

The Police are doing their job by arresting them in the wake of a crime. Rather than blame the Police for ‘doing their work’, and doing it well at that, MIFUMI should intensify the campaign for ending violence against women, in which most peace-loving Ugandans like myself, would gladly join. MIFUMI should sensitise men regarding the fact that times have changed and it is no longer fashionable to batter a woman to prove your manhood.

MIFUMI should also sensitise both women and men to let them know the legal steps they can take in case they are victims of gender violence, and the channels through which they can seek redress, rather than resorting to violence. Finally, MIFUMI should intensify efforts to change existing laws rather than sending out misguiding press releases to the media.

Mr Ogora is a team leader of research and advocacy, Justice and Reconciliation Project, Gulu
ogoralino@gmail.com

“There are more than 13 who fought for peace in the north,” New Vision, 27 October 2010

In the News, , , ,

“There are more than 13 who fought for peace in the north,” New Vision, 27 October 2010

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/736281/there%20are%20more%20than%2013%20who%20fought%20for%20peace

By Lino Owor Ogora

 

IN September, the New Vision ran a story about 13 people who had been honoured for their contribution to bringing peace in northern Uganda.

These people are: Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Steven Kagoda, Betty Bigombe, Gen. Katumba Wamala, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, Archbishop John Baptist Odama, Bishop Zack Niringiye, Omukama of Bunyoro Solomon Iguru, Angella Katatumba, Richard Ocici, Edward Kigongo, Moses Bamuze and Francisca Akello.

We are not aware of the criteria that was used to select these people, but I would like to say, there were some people who deserved recognition, but were left out.

These include; Bishop Macleod Baker Ochola, the retired Bishop of Kitgum; Sheikh Musa Khelil and Bishop Nelson Onono Onweng.

They also include the founders of the Acholi Religious Leaders’ Peace Initiative. This was one of the first organisations to advocate blanket amnesty in northern Uganda.

Others are cultural leaders like Rwot David Onen Achana, the Emorimor of Teso, the King of the Alur and the Won Nyaci of Lango.

More so, why were the peace negotiators on the LRA side not recognised?

Could Dr. Rugunda have negotiated without the other side?

Where are the other prominent politicians, such as Gulu chairman Nobert Mao, Reagan Okumu and Col. Walter Ochora, who were involved in the peace negotiations.

I, therefore, call upon the national platform for peace building to think more broadly beyond the 13 people, who were recognised.

They also need to make public with the criteria they used to select these ‘achievers’.

It would also be good for the public to be told why such people are being recognised, and what their contribution was.

Finally, there is need for more consultation with the victims of the war in northern Uganda to ensure that the peace ‘achievers’ who get awarded, are also known, and appreciated by the survivors of the war.

The writer is the team leader for research, advocacy and documentation at the Justice and Reconciliation Project in Gulu

“New Hope for Northern Ugandans Seeking Reparations from Government” Ugandansabroad, 13 October 2010

In the News, , , , ,

“New Hope for Northern Ugandans Seeking Reparations from Government” Ugandansabroad, 13 October 2010

http://ugandansabroad.org/2010/10/13/new-hope-for-northern-ugandans-seeking-reparations-from-the-government/

 By Samuel Ouga

 

KAMPALA, Uganda–

A team of researchers and lawyers will offer free legal services to thousands of survivors and victims of war conflicts in northern Uganda that are seeking reparations from the government.

The team, part of the network of the Northern Uganda Transitional Justice Working Group, hopes to help the victims demand compensation without any fear.

One of these lawyers is Charles Toolit Atiya, the coordinator of the group and a human rights lawyer.

“It’s obvious that after the wars, the structures, pillars and elements of justice got eroded like any other sector,” he told Ugandans Abroad. “Police work was objurgated to the military.”

The group is a large network of 120 organizations in Teso, Lango, Acholi, and West Nile regions.

Collectively, they hope to promote post-conflict justice mechanisms among survivors.    Many hope the government will compensate them for the destruction of their communities, the loss of their relatives’ lives, and disabilities they acquired during the war.

The survivors include those from massacres in Atyak, Mucwini, Mukura, and in West Nile. During the Atyak massacre alone, more than estimated 250 people were killed. Many want the government to also compensate them for when the UPDF occupied their land during the insurgencies.

The group recently set up a survivors’ membership desk, which helps them register their concerns for redress, as well as document their experiences from the conflict.  Atiya would like Ugandans in the diaspora to know that as much as government stepped in to re-establish the pillars of justice in the war-ravaged regions, a lot has to be done in settling offences and damages from recent conflicts.

One major problem is that survivors who are rewarded damages by the Uganda Human Rights Commission die before getting their benefits from the government, and face serious delays in the reparation process.

“We shall work days and nights to ensure that this process is expedited and made shoryer to serve the interests of the victims,” Atiya said.

Lino Owor Ogora, the research and advocacy team leader for the Justice and Reconciliation Project,  which is part of the larger network, told Ugandans Abroad that although guns have gone silent, war is not over for the victims.

“There are overwhelming demands for reparations by survivors and victims of the conflicts,” he said.   According to Ogora, the survivors of the 1989 massacre, have not been compensated by the government.

“In the West Nile, [the] Kony massacre survivors’ association also want compensation from the government,” he said. Many victims of the wars want to know how their friends and family died. Traditional justice can also help in settling some of the conflicts in the villages, which the organizations in the network can help facilitate.

Unfortunately, many of the survivors lack the financial resources and media coverage to pursue justice, since they are primarily impoverished relatives of those who were massacred, or victims trying to live with bullet wounds and amputated limbs.

Free legal services can be an important step in the right direction, since successfully seeking reparations is an expensive and time-consuming undertaking. Victims need support.

“These are not just straightforward cases,” said Toolit. “They are complicated and need a lot of research. And one of our fears is that of intimidation of the victims.”

The network is also pushing for a special reparation program to be created in northern Uganda to address the post-conflict needs of the region, and hope it can be coordinated with those seeking justice for war survivors in other parts of the country.

Samuel Ouga is a Ugandans Abroad reporter based in Kampala, Uganda.

“Families of Mucwini victims want reparation,” Daily Monitor, 20 August 2010

In the News, , , ,

“Families of Mucwini victims want reparation,” Daily Monitor, 20 August 2010

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/980774/-/x3sbey/-/index.html

 By James Eriku

 Families who lost their dear ones in Mucwini massacre in Kitgum District at the peak of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebellion in 2002 have asked the government to consider compensating them for the loss.

 The bereaved relatives said it is through compensation that they would feel government’s commitment in redressing the plight of children and women orphaned and widowed by the raid.

 “We ask the government to join hands with the cultural institution to compensate the families of those who died, to foster reconciliation and healing,” a statement read by the victims during a memorial prayer at the weekend, reads in part.

 In the early morning of July 24, 2002, the village witnessed one of the bloodiest attacks by the LRA on civilians when 56 people were massacred.

The women and children were massacred as a deliberate act of retaliation by the rebel outfit.

This is after they claimed that one of the sons of the village who had been abducted escaped and returned to the area with their gun.

The rebels allegedly rounded up the community and randomly selected some of the friends and family members to be murdered by axes, hand hoes, machetes and logs.

 Unfair act
They said although they appreciate government’s efforts to compensate lives of people killed by the July 11, 2010 twin bomb blasts in Kampala and those killed in Mukura massacre in 1989, they are not happy that there is no attention directed to survivors of the massacre in Mucwini.

 The most affected parishes in Mucwini by the LRA raids were; Pajong, Yepa, Pubec, Pudo, Ogwapoke, Agwoko, Akara and Bura.

“Delay Forgiveness—LRA Victims,” New Vision, 1 August 2010

In the News, , , ,

 “Delay Forgiveness—LRA Victims,” New Vision, 1 August 2010

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/16/727574/Delay%20Forgiveness%E2%80%94LRA%20Victims

By Chris Ocowun

RESIDENTS of Lukodi parish, Bungatira sub-county in Gulu district have called for a delay in the reconciliation drive with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) until rebel leader Joseph Kony comes out of the bush.

They said the Acholi traditional method of reconciliation (Mato-Oput) was supposed to take place between Kony and the Government.

Martin Lukwiya Ocam-Lenga wondered whom Kony would undergo the Mato-Oput with since President Yoweri Museveni was not an Acholi.

This was during a community dialogue organised by the Justice and Reconciliation Project on Friday at Lukodi Centre.

Gipson Okullu said: “Mato-Oput with the LRA rebels cannot stop justice from taking its course against some of the rebel leaders; they should be jailed to give relief to those whose people were massacred in the various areas in Acholi.”

The LRA rebels massacred more than 70 people at Lukodi in 2004.

Okullu added that there were some former LRA returnees, including his son, who were being haunted by the spirits of the people they killed.

He called for more traditional cleansing activities by Acholi elders and traditional leaders.

The project community mobilisation team leader, Sylvia Opinia, said similar dialogue had taken place in Atyak, Barlonyo, Mucwini and Abia.

Jane Francis Adongo of the Uganda Law Reform Commission said the commission was working towards exploring the use of traditional justice mechanisms to solve conflicts.

“In Memory of Mukura Victims,” Daily Monitor, 11 July 2010

In the News, , , , , ,

“In Memory of Mukura Victims,” Daily Monitor, 11 July 2010

http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/-/689844/955242/-/np3613/-/index.html

 By Lino Owor Ogora

 

When Finance Minister Syda Bumba read out the 2010/11 national budget on June 10, she announced that Shs200 million had been set aside for families of the victims of the 1989 Mukura massacre in Teso. The government should be applauded for realising that victims deserve some honour in the form of compensation.

However, this announcement calls for careful planning by all stakeholders, as this new compensation initiative appears to have several flaws, such as lack of victim consultation and the absence of a holistic plan that caters for community reconciliation and justice. These failings could lead to long-term consequences for the victims in Mukura and could establish a dangerous precedent for future reparations policies

The village of Mukura is located in Kumi District. According to a witness who was present at the time of the massacre, “On July 11, 1989, the 106th Battalion of the NRA (former name of the national army) rounded-up 300 men suspected of being rebel collaborators against the NRA regime and incarcerated them in a train wagon.”

Little evidence
There is little evidence to suggest that most of these men were anything other than innocent civilians. Trapped in the crowded train wagon, trying not to trample on one another, the men struggled to breathe, and by the time they were released after more than eight hours, 87 had suffocated to death. (This figure and some other details are highly contested, showing the need for a credible truth-seeking process into the event). The dead were hastily interred in a makeshift mass grave but their remains were later exhumed and re-buried in a memorial mass grave constructed by the government.

Our witness testified that President Museveni visited Mukura in October 1989 and promised a compensation of Shs2 million for each deceased person. In December 1989, Shs800,000 out of the Shs2 million was paid out to the families of all the 87 deceased men as a partial payment. This money was to be used by the recipient to buy a bicycle, an ox-plough and a pair of oxen. Since then, the victims have waited for the balance of Shs1.2 million; it did not show any signs of materialising until the recent announcement by finance minister. This move, positive as it may be, falls short in several ways

Questions remain
First, according to recent interviews held with civil society in Mukura, the government has not meaningfully consulted with the victims about their needs and the form that reparations should take. Several questions remain unanswered. How was the figure of Shs200 million derived? Is it a fulfilment of the long-awaited balance which was promised in 1989? When we visited Kumi town on June 21, our inquiries of government and civil society failed to produce any definitive answers, and the victims’ families continue to remain in the dark. The government needs to shed light on this.

Secondly, it is not known whether the new initiative will holistically address the range of needs of victims of mass atrocities. While different communities might require different processes, commonly-accepted transitional justice measures include accountability for perpetrators, truth seeking, reconciliation and memorials. Specifically: Truth-seeking and accountability: What has become of the commanders in charge of the 106th battalion that perpetrated the massacre?

Were they acting on their own initiative or based on ‘orders from above’? If so, then who is the most responsible in the chain of command?
It is alleged that a commission of inquiry was set up by the President in 1989, but its findings were never published. Furthermore, acknowledgement of the massacre should be accompanied with accountability.

Memorialisation: The government has already constructed a memorial secondary school in Mukura and a memorial mass grave at Okunguro Railway Station where the remains of the victims were buried. This memorial lacks connectedness to the victims and their families, and has fallen into a state of disrepair, having been overrun by natural vegetation and ants.

No consultations
Furthermore a building which was reportedly supposed to house a public library lies incomplete. Victims and community members should be consulted to see if the memorials should be refurbished, or different memorials created.

Thirdly, it is also important to make sure that reparations are not used as a political gambit. Because the compensation for Mukura survivors was announced in the run-up to the 2011 elections, skeptics have begun to doubt the governing party’s motives.

Unless the government pronounces itself on this issue, this seemingly good cause may be interpreted as an attempt to silence the victims and ‘buy’ their votes ahead of the 2011 elections.

It is therefore incumbent upon government to make the Mukura question a success, so that the results set a blueprint for the much needed policy on reparations in Uganda.

This lesson could help the case of northern Uganda where it is claimed that the office of the presidential advisor on northern Uganda has been actively engaged in registering victims for future reparations.

What criteria
This would go a long way in answering the question of, ‘what criteria should be used to register victims, and also provide insights on what a reparations policy should consider’. These questions, plus many others would also be useful in the case of Luweero Triangle and Western Uganda, where the government is also planning to make reparations.

There is need for coordination of all these efforts to ensure that reparations schemes across the country are consistent. There is also a need to consult with victims before any definite decisions are reached in order to fully involve them in the process.

Mr Ogora is team leader, Research and Advocacy, Justice and
Reconciliation Project, Gulu