War Claimants: We want guns to fight Kony

By Morish Dramadri.

Arua

The disgruntled members of greater Arua Kony war victim’s association are demanding for guns from government to hunt for the leader of the Lord’s resistance army Joseph Kony after their efforts to demand for compensation for the lives and properties lost in the LRA insurgency in the Northern Uganda seems to be hitting a snug from the concerned authorities. Between 1993 to early 2000’s, the region experienced insurgency malt with bloodshed and loss of property as LRA invaded the region and attacked so many people mostly targeting the highways in the region where businessmen and women travel to conduct businesses. Over the last 25 years, the 1,102 members of the association demanded for 99,884,000 shillings from the government of Uganda for the losses they made, both lives and property during the insurgency.

On 20th June 2022, the victims peacefully demonstrated at the mayor’s  garden in Arua city demanding the action of the Resident City Commissioner ,Alice Akello into the matter and this prompted the intervention of the office of the president after receiving a phone call from Gen. Taban Amin, the deputy director general for special operations in the internal security organization (ISO) which harmonized the situation after the office of the president made a promise to the leader of the association Alex Matua. But ever since they peacefully demonstrated, there has been on positive response from the state house making the members of the association to device another means. “When we had our peacefully demonstration in June last year, the deputy director general Taban Amin called the president and told him the war victims in Arua are demonstrating over their compensation and the president asked him to give the phone to me as their chairperson and I talked to the president where he said people have not been giving him detailed information about the Kony war victims and asked me to work on the documents and give to the director general which I did and I don’t know whether he delivered them to the president” Alex Matua the chairperson of the association says. He further reveals that when he calls the deputy director general Taban Amin, he does not pick his call and many times his phones do not go through.

In a letter dated 10th June 2022 received from Dr. Kenneth Omonya, the member of parliament of Ayivu east wrote to the president to compensate the war claimants, so this is an issue known by every person and office. “We have come up with the following resolutions:
No vote for all NRM candidates in 2026 if we are not compensated, Secondly, we need guns from government if he does not have money to pay us so that we can go and look for Kony who in fact killed us”. Matua Alex explains. “After here, we are going to organize a general meeting and match to the parliament and we don’t want to see any gun man or else they will finish us because Kony had already killed us before” he continued aggressively.
Rashid Ciriga Alahai, one of the victims from Lodonga Sub County in Yumbe district says “one day we have to undress ourselves and match to the office of the leaders and God will then hear us”.