WE-CAN MAKES FRESH DEMANDS FOR COMPENSATION OF WEST NILE WAR CLAIMANTS AMID FAILED GOVERNMENT PROMISES

The district leaders who converged to meet at WE-CAN offices to deliberate on issues of compensation. Photo//Erema.

By Erema George

Arua City

The West Nile Compensation Advocacy Network (WE-CAN), a group in West Nile sub-region of Uganda that helps victims and survivors of past conflicts register for government compensation claims has reignited the demand for compensation of the victims of the Kony war amid unfulfilled promises by the government.

The network has conducted a meeting with district chairpersons to review activities, discus modalities and way forward to proceed with the issues of advocacy for the compensation of the West Nile people.

According to Richard Andama, the Executive Director of WE-CAN, they are building on President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s promise made in January to ensure the people of West Nile receive their compensations.

“We are going to write joint communique that we shall submit to the Office of the Prime Minister and also to the chairman West Nile parliamentary caucus. We are also going to write another letter to His Excellency the President that his commitment to compensate the people of West Nile as he stated on 9^th of January this year before the general elections is very important that this is actualized,” Andama stated.

The Executive Director of WE-CAN addressing the media on the developments by the organization. Photo//Erema.

Over 2.5 million people were directly affected by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, suffered decades of mass killings, mutilations, and child abductions during a brutal insurgency and significant efforts have been made to compensate the victims.

However, the processes have been slow, complex, and frustrating for many survivors due to the polarization of the efforts marked by small milestones but overshadowed by massive bureaucratic delays, public protests, and legal battles.

Ben Yuma, the chairperson of Terego District War survivors Association noted that, “When Amin was overthrown, we were called Amin’s people and the war ended here, people of West Nile lost everything. Now we have been left out for the issues of regional compensations while in other regions, people have now been compensated. We want the people of West Nile to come together, we really need to get all this to be documented and people should be compensated just like in other regions,” Yuma said.

The chairperson of Terego District War survivors and claimants Association, Ben Yuma. Photo//Erema.

On a similar note, Jane Aliru the chairperson of Arua Central Division lamented that, “Many of you have been seeing me running here and there knocking at these offices, up to date nothing happened. If I cannot get, how about the rest of the people in other places? Just yesterday (9^th September) I was seeing our President compensating people in Lango with 50,000,000/=, single mothers. How about West Nile?” Aliru lamented.

Jane Aliru, chairperson of Arua Central Division also a victim of the Konyi War lamenting on the failure of the government’s compensation. Photo//Erema.

Meanwhile Oyemi Antes Asedri the Madi Okollo District Rising Voices Peace Initiative Association chairperson hinted on a need for togetherness, “We need to be cohesive, we need to come together, we talk to our members of parliament and we are going to make sure our voices go up to Prime Minister’s Office. If need be we are looking at the pinnacle, the President,” Asedri vowed.

Oyemi Antes Asedri the Madi Okollo District Rising Voices Peace Initiative Association chairperson. Photo//Erema.

While billions of shillings are officially on the government’s books for war debt—and an additional 100 billion Shillings has been earmarked to stretch the program over the next 10 years—the actual result on the ground has been extreme administrative bottlenecks.

The vast majority of the 2.5 million victims remain empty-handed, leaving regional leaders and survivor groups deeply embittered.

The groups demanding compensation from the government for the conflicts in West Nile include; LRA Insurgency Victims: Business and transport owners who lost assets, along with families of civilians killed, injured, or abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army, Massacre Survivors: Families and survivors of historical mass killings, most notably the 1981 Ombaci Massacre, War & Rebellion Victims: People who lost property, loved ones, or were displaced during the 1979 Liberation War, as well as the UNRF and WNBF rebellions, Former Ex-Combatants: Thousands of demobilized fighters from defunct rebel groups waiting for promised peace agreement resettlement packages.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis