Ugandan LRA terrorist group wants to destabilise peace in southern Sudan

Friday's attack by the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army on a civilian truck at Teretenye village near Ikotos in southern Sudan may be an indication that the rebels want to destabilise the peace in southern Sudan.

Full report 20 Dec 2005 (SRS/ST)



Photo: Joseph Kony, leader of LRA.

The U.S. government views the LRA as a terrorist organisation.

Is Uganda's Museveni following in Mugabe's footsteps?

BBC report 30 November 2005 says Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has for years been hailed by western donors as part of the "new breed" of African leaders but many now say his halo has slipped. Excerpt:

They are particularly alarmed by the arrest this month of Kizza Besigye, seen as the man likely to pose the strongest challenge to Mr Museveni in elections due early next year.



Some analysts say the involvement of the military in Dr Besigye's case is a sign of the growing influence of the army in various aspects of Ugandan life.

The authorities accuse Dr Besigye of contacting rebel groups in order to topple Mr Museveni and they say they have the evidence to back up the charges.



Photo (AP/BBC) Dr Besigye (in blue cap) who returned from four years in exile last month was charged with treason - and rape - in the High Court but a judge has agreed to grant him bail.

However, he has also been charged in a military court with terrorism and unlawful possession of weapons and he remains in custody.



Dr Besigye's arrest led to two days of riots in Kampala - see BBC In pictures: Kampala riots. Anti-riot police and soldiers fired tear gas and bullets against protesters in the central streets of Kampala. Riot police battled opposition supporters for two days, after the arrest of their leader Kizza Besigye.

A suspected looter was shot dead in this street. There are growing concerns over the political climate in Uganda. Human Rights Watch has urged a fair trial for Dr Besigye.

Many Ugandans are unhappy at the military's involvement in the Besigye case.

UK cuts Uganda aid in poll fears

Today, BBC reports European governments have expressed concern about the prospects for a fair election in Uganda following the arrest on treason charges of the main opposition leader, Kizza Besigye.



Photo (AP/BBC): Opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Ugandan jail. Dr Besigye denies charges of treason and rape. Report excerpt:

Britain is to cut the amount of direct aid it gives to Uganda by 15m pounds because of concerns about the country's slow progress to democracy.

The money will be diverted to aid agencies in the conflict zone of north Uganda, International Development Secretary, Hilary Benn said.

A further 4m pounds is being held back pending the conduct of presidential elections due in February next year.

The announcement follows a similar move by Sweden, which diverted 4.6m pounds.

Northern Uganda is terrorised by rebel fighters who kidnap children and force them to fight.

The Lord's Resistance Army has murdered tens of thousands of people during a 19-year campaign.

They are led by Joseph Kony, who claims he is on a mission from God and wants Uganda's laws to replicate the Ten Commandments.

More than 25,000 children have been abducted and now represent 80% of the rebel force.

Democracy and African nations: The Answer or the Disaster?

Next year in Uganda, an election is due to take place. Please note important blog Museveni OUT Campaign and read ITS TIME FOR MUSEVENI TO GO! It reminds readers that Museveni came to power by overturning a legally established government by use of force of arms, and even if opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye is kept behind bards throughout the elections, 'his supporters can still cast a clear and overwhelming protest vote in favor of a change in leadership for Uganda'.

Also, note Dr D's Human rights 4 all-Africa blog and interesting comments at post on Africa's ability to handle democracy or not.

Dr. D is an Associate Professor of Government at Franklin & Marshall College and specialises in human rights and African politics.

[My thoughts are democracy could work if all the crazy men that Africans allow to rule their countries were deposed and replaced with strong African women. Note Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's story and how Africa's first female president is ready to repay a favour.]

Humanitarian Appeal: By Emergency - CAP Uganda 2006 - Consolidated Appeal

Continued attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda have made it difficult for humanitarian workers to assist about 2.5 million people in the region to meet their basic needs, a senior UN official said on Monday. Full report from IRIN 14 Dec 2005 - excerpts:

1.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in extreme poverty and inhuman conditions in camps in Acholi region.

Others include IDPs in [eastern] Teso and Lango regions; some 260,000 refugees in eight districts in the [northwestern] West Nile and western regions of the country; and more than 500,000 drought affected people in [northeastern] Karamoja region.

Northern Uganda has remained the scene of a brutal insurgency that pits government forces against the LRA, resulting in the displacement of close to 90 percent of the region's people.

The displaced live in 105 overcrowded camps and rely largely on external assistance for survival while insecurity hinders access of relief workers to IDP camps.

"The killing of humanitarian workers in northern Uganda and southern Sudan between the last week of October and the first week of November has further undermined unhindered access in most of Acholi sub-region and northern Lango," he noted.

The rebels also frequently attack refugee settlements in the northwestern town of Adjumani. At the same time, LRA activities in southern Sudan have led to the arrival of a new wave of Sudanese refugees.

Mogwanja urged the government to increase military patrols along the main roads and around IDP settlements.

Note Consolidated Appeal for Uganda 2006 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 30 Nov 2005.

Uganda opposition leader Kizza Besigye arrested

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been arrested three weeks after he returned home from four years in exile.

Police used tear gas to disperse thousands of his supporters outside the police station where he is being held.

Police say Dr Besigye will be charged with treason after accusing him of belonging to two rebel groups. Mr Besigye has denied the allegations.

He is seen as the strongest challenger to Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni in elections due next March. Kizza Besigye and his wife are both former Museveni allies.

Full story BBC 14 Nov 2005.

US and UK military experts seek to help in anti-LRA campaign?

Via Uganda-CAN:

Today's Daily Monitor reports US and British military experts have joined the hunt for leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army. According to the report:

"On 18 October, experts traversed West Nile to scour intelligence leads and assess the prevailing security situation in the region.

This military reconnaissance follows reported infiltration of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels into the jungles of the neighbouring Oriental province of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and parts of southern Sudan. There have been rising fears in local security circles that the rebels could launch a military offensive in parts of northwestern Ugandan anytime, inspite of thousands of Ugandan troops amassed to shield the porous frontier areas with the two countries.

A source said the military attaches were on the ground to assess UPDFs capability and explore how their respective governments could help bolster the anti-LRA campaign. They visited Koboko district and Oraba Customs Post at the Uganda/Sudan border."

Uganda's young night commuters and Gulu Walk Day

Thanks to Bill at Jewels in the Jungle for a special round up of news in honour of Gulu Walk Day.

See more on the "night commuters" -- children who flee their villages or camps every evening in order to find a safer place to sleep, usually in the streets of larger towns and cities. In May, the UN said there were about 42,000 ...

ICC Prosecutor: Sudan cooperates in Ugandan LRA rebel leader case

From The Guardian Friday October 14, 2005:

By ANTHONY DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Sudan is cooperating with the International Criminal Court in its pursuit of the first suspect indicted by the court - the leader of a feared rebel group - the tribunal's chief prosecutor said Thursday. The Ugandan rebel leader is being sought in three countries.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told The Associated Press in an interview that the court is also studying Sudan's efforts to prosecute Sudanese accused of war crimes in the troubled Darfur region. Sudan has rejected efforts by the court to investigate in Darfur.

While Sudan and the court differ over Darfur, Khartoum is cooperating in the case of Joseph Kony, one of five top Lord's Resistance Army members named in a sealed indictment compiled by prosecutors of the permanent war crimes court. Warrants for their arrests have been issued in Uganda, Congo and Sudan.

The armed group has waged war against the Ugandan government for 19 years, killing thousands of civilians and displacing as many as 1.9 million. It has in the past been backed by Sudan.

"We believe Sudan is ready to cooperate with Uganda in the arrest of Kony,'' Moreno-Ocampo said. "They cooperate with our work. Today they are doing what we are requesting.''

"The arrest warrant will help to reduce political support and financial support. ... This way they will be isolated,'' he said.

Moreno-Ocampo made the comments after meeting with diplomats in The Hague, including representatives from Sudan.

He said he hoped the court's first cases can go to trial in 2006.

Sudan once backed the LRA, even as Uganda supported the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Army in its civil war with the Sudanese government. But Sudan and Uganda normalized relations in 2001, Sudan's southern civil war ended in January and the SPLM joined a national unity government, and Ugandan troops have since been allowed to operate in some parts of southern Sudan against the LRA.

Human rights groups say the Lord's Resistance Army has over the years abducted more than 30,000 children, forcing them to become fighters, porters or concubines. The rebels have killed thousands of civilians, but appears to have no clear political agenda.

The conflict has displaced an estimated 1.9 million civilians in northern Uganda, according to Human Rights Watch. The New York-based group alleges that the government forces have also committed crimes against civilians.

The International Criminal Court was established in July 2002 and is mandated to prosecute war crimes in the 99 countries which have ratified its founding treaty, the Rome Statute. It cannot prosecute crimes before the days of its inception.

Uganda rebel leaders named by ICC as world's most wanted men

Five commanders of a vicious rebel army of kidnapped child soldiers led by a brutal self-proclaimed mystic are officially the world's most wanted men, according to the International Criminal Court.

Full report by Mike Pflanz, East Africa Correspondent, Telegraph UK 8 Oct 2005.

More on this story from the BBC 7 Oct 2005: Ugandan top rebel leader indicted.

Submissions Welcomed For Spotlight On Darfur 2

If you wish to contribute a blog entry for Spotlight on Darfur 2, please contact Eddie Beaver at Live From The FDNF in time for 16 October 2005 deadline.

Jim Moore, co-founder of Sudan: Passion of the Present, recently posted a note from Eddie on this initiative with an important PINR report from Michael Weinstein.

Note, Catez Stevens in New Zealand initiated and hosted Spotlight on Darfur 1 round up of posts authored by 14 different bloggers from around the world. Jim Moore, in praise of this, writes:

"In my view this work is so fine as to be almost historic. It combines the literary quality of a small, carefully edited book, with the global accessibility of works on the web."



Last May, Catez also produced The Darfur Collection.

Image courtesy Tim Sweetman's post Let Us Weep.

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all aid bloggers Live 8 Live From The FDNF Darfur Collection Spotlight on Darfur

Uganda-CAN Op/Ed in The New Vision!

Well done and congratulations to Uganda-CAN on the opinion piece in The New Vision.

With all good wishes and best of luck to them in their great work.

Tags: Uganda-CAN Congo DR Congo Sudan Uganda UN Uganda DRC LRA terrorists New Vision

Former drug dealer frees abducted child soldiers in Sudan and Uganda

Simon Young, blogging out of Auckland, New Zealand says,

"This guy is just asking to have a movie made about him."

Read why, in this article:

A HERO IN HELL
Former Drug Dealer Frees Abducted Child Soldiers in Sudan and Uganda
By Maria Sliwa
October 5, 2005



Sam delivering food supplies to the children at the orphanage (Maria Sliwa). Photo courtesy Sudan's Nimule Hero - Children liberator from Ugandan LRA camps. 8 Oct 2005.

DR Congo troops to Uganda border

"We have transported 300 Congolese soldiers to Aba in our helicopters and another 200 are on the way there by road," United Nations military spokesman Thierry Provendier said, Reuters reports.

The force will number 1,000 men by the end of this week, he said.

Full report (BBC) October 4, 2005.

Tags: Congo DR Congo Sudan Uganda UN Uganda DRC LRA terrorists

UN airlifts Congo troops to deal with Uganda rebels in DRC

The U.N. has airlifted several hundred Congo government soldiers to a remote corner of the country to deal with heavily armed Ugandan rebels who have entered and refuse to disarm, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday.

The helicopters flew the troops to Aba, an isolated town near the Democratic Republic of Congo's northeastern border with Uganda and Sudan, U.N. military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thierry Provendier said in Kinshasa.

Full report Kinshasa, Oct 4 (Reuters)

Tags: Congo DR Congo Sudan Uganda UN Uganda DRC LRA terrorists

Uganda's LRA rebels in daylight ambush

LRA rebels are suspected of ambushing a civilian pick up truck in north east Uganda, shooting the driver and two passengers, and killing a fourth with an axe, says a BBC report October 4, 2005.

The BBC report states DR Congo has warned Uganda not to try to disarm an LRA force in its territory. Excerpts:

In recent days, our correspondent says, hundreds of people fled their homes after suspected LRA rebels burnt down up to 200 huts in the east of Uganda in Teso region - an area which has been relatively free from LRA attacks for almost two years.

Last Thursday four farmers were killed near Palenga in Gulu district - their bodies hacked with machetes.

Some 450km away in the north-east of the DR Congo another group of the LRA continues to keep the Ugandan military busy. Trucks full of soldiers and military hardware have been moved to the Congolese border. The army says this is a precautionary measure to prevent LRA rebels who recently crossed into DR Congo from attacking Ugandan civilians.

Last week, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said if the Congolese authorities failed to disarm LRA members, the Ugandan army would enter neighbouring Congo to do so.

[DRC UN Ambassador] Mr Ileka asked the Security Council to impose sanctions on Uganda including an arms embargo and the suspension of international aid.

Note, the report ends by saying "the UN mission in DR Congo has said it intends to use all means necessary to drive out the LRA group."

Tags: Congo DR Congo Sudan Uganda UN Uganda DRC LRA terrorists

I killed so many I lost count, says boy, 11

Excerpt from UK Telegraph report by David Blair in Gulu 3/8/2005:

During 19 years of war, the LRA has abducted 20,000 children, enslaving and indoctrinating them for use as soldiers and sexual playthings. More than 10,000 have been taken in the past three years alone. Uniquely in the annals of guerrilla war, Kony's army consists almost entirely of abducted children and, within and without his forces, he brutalises and murders as many as possible.His war has no coherent demands. The LRA is a fanatical cult rather than a political movement.

Note, the US recognises the LRA as a terrorist organisation.

Tags: Congo DR Congo Sudan Africa Khartoum Uganda DRC LRA terrorists

ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Joseph Kony

Uganda-CAN Oct 3 points out a New Vision report that says the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant of arrest for Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) chief Joseph Kony, according to a senior UN official in Nairobi over the weekend:

UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari said the warrant of arrest was written on Tuesday but had not been publicised by the ICC, a unit of the UN, until now. "We believe he (Kony) is in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but we cannot say as to whether the UN forces can apprehend him," Gambari revealed when asked whether UN forces were in pursuit of Kony.

The warrant for Kony, wanted for atrocities committed in northern Uganda, comes as Uganda appealed for help to bring rebels based in the Congo to book. "The ICC has issued a warrant for the arrest of Ugandan rebel leader but it has not been publicised. The issue here is where to locate Kony and the capacity of the UN to apprehend him," Gambari said.

Kony's crimes include torture and mutilation, abduction, sexual violence, forced recruitment and the killing of people the LRA considers are supporters of President Yoweri Museveni.

Click on this photo of Jospeh Kony to learn more.

Tags: Congo DR Congo Sudan Africa Khartoum Uganda DRC LRA terrorists

Ugandan troops amass at border of DR Congo

From Michael at Uganda-CAN October 3, 2005:

Thousands of Ugandan troops have begun gathering at the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the West Nile region of Uganda, purportedly in preparation to engage Lord's Resistance Army forces across the border, reports AllAfrica. A contingent of approximately 400 LRA forces crossed into Congo over a week ago, and requests from UN and Congolese officials for the LRA to disarm have been ignored.

Although Uganda's Minister of Defense last week claimed that Uganda would under no circumstances enter the DRC, President Museveni has this week stated that if UN and Congolese troops do not take immediate and aggressive action, Uganda's military would be sent across the border. Uganda played a central role in destabilizing eastern Congo during the civil war that ended in 2004, and many fear that if Ugandan forces cross the border again, more chaos could ensue. Several small armed insurgencies still plague the region today.

Uganda-CAN urges the Government of Uganda and UN to delay attacks on the group until robust efforts have been made to open negotiations with the rebels.

Tags: Congo DR Congo Sudan Africa Khartoum Uganda DRC LRA terrorists

South Sudan: Ugandan's LRA attempting to close road between Juba and Yei?

Further to Uganda Watch post Oct 1 on Uganda's re-opening of road linking southern Sudan, Sudan Activism Blog features a SouthSudan.Net opinion piece by Laku Modi of Greater South Sudan Sep 16.

Note this excerpt:

"Recently, the road between Juba and Yei, which was then closed for nearly 16 years, was officially opened by the South Sudan Government authorities who for the first time tried to normalized the life of its people as part of CPA deal. However, no sooner had people started using the road than the Ugandan rebels attack residences who are living along side Juba-Yei road. Is the latest Lord Resistance Army Rebel of Uganda (LRA) attack on Loka, an attempt to close this road again? It is unbelievable for me to hear the development which was announced less than a week ago being countered by LRA criminals.

Obviously LRA is not acting alone in such operations but with the direction of Sudan Government whose interest is to block South Sudan transport and telecommunication system, trade and commerce, and other development sectors with her African countries counterparts so as to enable them tie South Sudan to depend on North Sudan like in the previous years. By so doing, Sudan government have assumed that they will be able to create a conducive atmosphere to their pipe dreams of making "unity of Sudan attractive". That's why the NIF have embarked on introducing LRA forces ranging from Eastern Equatoria to central Equoteria and now as far as Western Equoteria, a region which LRA didn't know before."

Tags: Sudan Uganda Africa LRA

Uganda reopens road linking southern Sudan

The Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) have reopened the road between Yei in Uganda and Juba in southern Sudan, local press reported. Excerpt from China's Xinhua 13 Sept 2005:

Yei town lies 93 km from the Uganda-Sudan border. The road opens trade opportunities between Uganda and southern Sudan.

Uganda's Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that the 160 km road was reopened last week by Lt. Gen. Abujon, accompanied by Maj.Gen. Peter Cirillo, representative of Bajr El Jabel state, Uganda's consul in Juba Busho Ndinyenka and other SPLA/M commanders and local officials.

The convoy of 20 vehicles was received by a tumultuous crowd of Juba residents, who have paid dearly for commodities transported by air from Khartoum.

"The road is seen as an avenue to get supplies from Uganda more cheaply. Uganda's Foreign Ministry has called upon Ugandan businessmen to take advantage of the road to trade with Sudan, particularly southern Sudan," the report added.

Tags: Uganda Juba Sudan Africa Khartoum

Sudan government troops to join hands with Uganda to force out LRA

From China's People's Daily Online 5 Sep 2005:

The Sudanese government said on Sunday it is working with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and Ugandan government to remove the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) from Southern Sudan.

In a press statement, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail termed the southern Sudan-based LRA as "a terrorist group which would harm Sudan as well as Uganda."

"Contacts are underway between Sudan and Uganda at the level of the presidency and Ministry of Defence to banish any existence of the LRA inside the Sudanese lands," Mustafa said.

LRA rebels have killed over tens of thousands of civilians and displaced over 1.4 million people in their 19-year rebellion in northern Uganda.

Kampala and Khartoum signed an agreement in 2002 to allow the Ugandan government troops to launch cross-border operations against the LRA, which has several bases in southern Sudan.

In the statement, the top Sudanese diplomat pointed out that after the signature of a comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and SPLM in January, the southern government is responsible for the south's security.

The government of Khartoum, however, has taken the responsibility of protecting Sudan's borders and defending the national security including the south, he added.

Source: Xinhua

Tags: Uganda Juba Sudan Africa Khartoum

Uganda seeks extradition of deputy LRA leader

Uganda is negotiating with Congo and the UN for the extradition of a leader of the notorious rebel Lord's Resistance Army, the foreign minister said on Monday.

Ugandan officials had said on Friday that LRA deputy chief Vincent Otti and 50 other rebels had fled to north-eastern Congo and were seeking asylum.

Full report Sep 26, 2005 (AP/IOL)

Note, the report ends by saying:

The rebel force once had the support of Sudan, which had allowed it to use Sudanese territory as a rear base, because Uganda supported the then rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

Since a peace agreement was signed in January between the former southern Sudanese rebel group and the Sudanese government, Sudanese officials have been discussing with Uganda how to end the northern Uganda rebellion.

- - -

Uganda's peace process is extremely fragile

Sep 26 BBC report DR Congo to deport Ugandan rebels.
- - -

Ugandan Police Deployed in Darfur

Sep 26 report at the Monitor says at least 56 Ugandan police officers have been deployed to Darfur in Southern Sudan [Darfur is in Western Sudan] on a peacekeeping mission.

Tags: Africa Uganda LRA Sudan DR Congo

Congo army says will forcibly disarm Ugandan rebels

MONUC report Sep 26 confirms the Democratic Republic of Congo's army said on Sunday it would forcibly disarm 400 Ugandan rebels who have crossed into the northeast of the country and are refusing to lay down their weapons:

"A regional military commander, General Padiri Bulenda, told Reuters he would have to disarm the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in order to prevent thousands of Ugandan soldiers from crossing the border into the Congo to hunt them down."

The report ends by saying:

"Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has repeatedly warned Congo's fragile transitional government that he would take action against Ugandan rebels in Congo if he felt they were a threat to his country.

A source close to Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila called the presence of Ugandan soldiers on Congo's border "a distraction from pressure being applied on Museveni because of his meddling in Congo and attempts to prolong his presidency at home"."

- - -

Museveni to occupy Southern Sudan?

A blogger in America, Menya Kilat, has an interesting theory on connections between Uganda and Southern Sudan and wonders if LRA leader Kony is the red herring to allow Museveni occupy Southern Sudan.

It is a theory I do not share. But, when it comes to African politics, nothing would surprise me.

The US recognises the LRA as a terrorist organisation.

A report today by the BBC says Kony remains with his fighters in southern Sudan and the UN says it has held a meeting with LRA rebels for the first time.

Kony's deputy Vincent Otti is in DR Congo talking to the UN. Uganda says Otti and about 50 fighters left their hideouts in southern Sudan's lawless mountains last week and crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday.

[Cross posted to Sudan Watch and Congo Watch]

Tags: Africa Uganda LRA Sudan DR Congo

LRA commander Joseph Kony remains with his fighters in southern Sudan

The UN says it has held a meeting with a group of the Ugandan rebels, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), for the first time. Full story (BBC)

Note, the report says LRA commander Joseph Kony remains with his fighters in southern Sudan. Reuters says his time may be running out.

Tags: Africa Uganda LRA Sudan DR Congo

Let's Not Forget the Children of Uganda

Carolyn Davis, editorial writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer, has published an Op/Ed, titled "Let's Not Forget the Children of Uganda," which highlights Uganda-CAN's Prayer and Action Weekend for the Children of Northern Uganda happening now!

She writes, "This weekend is a nationwide 'Prayer and Action Weekend for the Children of Northern Uganda,' an idea conceived in Philadelphia. The Washington-based Uganda Conflict Action Network has mounted a national campaign to get ministers, rabbis, imams and priests to tell their congregations about this war. Stir them with knowledge into asking the United States to lead in bringing it to an end."

Tags: Africa Uganda LRA Sudan DR Congo Philadelphia

Uganda demands immediate withdrawal of HRW report

The Uganda government has demanded that the US based rights group, Human Rights Watch immediately withdraws its report on alleged widespread human rights abuses in northern Uganda.

Sep 24 New Vision article says the controversial 76-page report repeatedly said abuses of civilians by UPDF in northern Uganda were perpetrated with impunity, that no effective accountability structure exists in the camps and that there is a lack of Police presence in the region.

Defence minister Amama Mbabazi said, "The Government of Uganda demands for the immediate withdrawal of the report. Uganda cannot but conclude that Human Rights Watch has abandoned its impartiality and allowed itself to be part of a partisan campaign in the run up to the 2006 elections. Indeed, the American human rights body is acting like a mouthpiece for the political opposition."

Note, the article says Mr Mbabazi also told journalists in Kampala that LRA's number two Vincent Otti and a group of rebels had sought political asylum in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He said Uganda, Congo and Sudan were in talks to end the LRA terror.

Uganda-CAN notes a HRW official in Uganda denied the minister's claims and said they "would stand by the accuracy of the report."

Tags: Africa Uganda LRA Sudan DR Congo Human Rights Watch

Uganda's rebel LRA use torture to instil fear

Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has become synonymous with torture, abductions and killings



BBC photo: The LRA use torture to instil fear

"They tied me and laid me down. They told me not to cry. Not to make any noise. Then one man sat on my chest, men held my arms, legs, and one held my neck".

"Another picked up an axe. First he chopped my left hand, ... read the rest in Uganda's atrocious war by Will Ross, BBC Kitgum Uganda.

Tags: Africa Live 8 BBCUganda LRA Child Soldiers torture abductions killings BBC

Who are the LRA? Q&A: Uganda's northern rebellion

The UN's head of humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, has described the situation in northern Uganda as the most neglected humanitarian crisis in the world.

Some 20,000 children have been caught up in a conflict between government forces and a group known as the as the Lord's Resistance Army. More than one million people have fled their homes.



BBC Photo: The rebels are targeting camps for displaced people

Who are the Lord's Resistance Army?

Read BBC's Q&A: Uganda's northern rebellion to find out.

Note, the US recognises the LRA as a terrorist organisation.

Tags: Africa Uganda BBC Child Soldiers torture LRA terrorists terrorist organisation

Ugandan LRA rebel chief 'in DR Congo'

The deputy leader of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebel group is seeking asylum in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda's defence minister says.

DR Congo denies receiving an asylum request from the rebel official, Vincent Otti.

The LRA has operated from bases in northern Uganda and southern Sudan for nearly 20 years.



Photo: A soldier nursing a survivor, said to be the child of Vincent Otti.

Read Uganda's fallen child rebels by Callum Macrae, Film-maker and journalist. (BBC)



Photo: The LRA is notorious for child abductions.

See Child soldier pictures, the life of a former rebel child soldier and his double escape. (BBC)

Tags: Africa Uganda LRA Child Soldiers torture abductions Congo DR Congo

Northern Uganda: In pictures - Night commuters

Every night in northern Uganda, tens of thousands of children, known as night commuters, flow into town centres.

They come seeking safety in shelters set up by aid agencies, with the Ugandan government unable to end a brutal 18-year war and protect them from rebel attacks.

At a centre known as the Arc in Gulu town, hundreds of boys will share the floor. See BBC news In pictures: Night commuters.

One of the reasons why children walk the lengths they do is because of scenes like this.



A child stands outside a burnt home in an internally displaced persons camp near Soroti town because of a cooking fire that swept through a quarter of the camp.

Such fires are common in the camps and result in thousands of injuries and deaths each year.

Words and images: Jake Price, Hikari pictures
- - -

Prayer and Action Weekend for the Children of Northern Uganda

On September 23-25, faith leaders and communities around the world will speak out to raise attention to the forgotten plight of children in northern Uganda.

Tags: Africa Uganda LRA Child Soldiers torture

Uganda says top LRA rebel wants asylum in Congo

The deputy leader of Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is asking for political asylum in Congo after fleeing into its remote northeastern jungles, Uganda's defence minister said today.

Uganda says Vincent Otti and about 50 fighters left their hideouts in southern Sudan's lawless mountains last week and crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday.

But the Congolese government said on Friday it had no information about the group's presence on its territory or of any asylum request.

See full story Sep 23 2005 (Standard)

Tags: Sudan Africa Congo Uganda

UN envoy says LRA to blame for violence in South Sudan

The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative to Sudan, Jan Pronk, said a Ugandan insurgent group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), was to blame for much of the violence in southern Sudan.

The group had hindered de-mining work and the opening of roads in the area, he added.

See further posts re LRA and Uganda-CAN at Sudan Watch September 23 2005. Not had a chance to cross-post them here at Uganda Watch.

Tags: Sudan Africa Congo Uganda

British Council holds festival for African writers

Forty-five African writers from 19 countries including Nigeria would next month participate in a literature festival in Kampala, Uganda.

Tagged "Beyond Borders: A Festival of Contemporary African Writing", the event will be held between October 19 and 21.

The Director of British Council Uganda, Mr. Richard Weyers, says, "The literature festival will be one of the largest gatherings of African writers in Africa to take place for several decades. It is a unique creative networking event that would broadcast to the world the richness of African and UK writing."

Participating writers have been drawn from across sub-Saharan Africa and the UK. From Nigeria, writers like Chika Unigwe, Tolu Ogunlesi, Helon Habila, Olubunmi Julius-Adeoye and Rotimi Babatunde are taking part in the festival.

Renowned Sudanese writer, Taban Lo Liyong, and Ivorien Veronique Tadjo are other writers participating in the festival, which will provide a platform for established and emerging writers, those in exile or have now returned home, to discuss the role of a writer and the state of contemporary writing across Africa today.

See full story Sep 23 2005 (DI)

US promises support for military operations to fight LRA

Xinhua reports that US National Security Advisor Steve Hadley has assured Uganda of his country's cooperation in the planned joint operation between Uganda, Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) against remnants of rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

On a group of LRA ebels entering the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through southern Sudan, Hadley said US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton will take up the matter of UN Observer Mission in Congo to improve UN presence and performance in the DRC.

LRA rebels have killed tens of thousands of civilians and displaced over 1.4 million people in their 19-year-old rebellion in northern Uganda.

[via Uganda-CAN with thanks]

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa DR Congo Uganda LRA Uganda-CAN MONUC SPLA US

Africa's peace seekers: Betty Bigombe

It was a CNN "breaking news" flash that first caught her eye.

On the chilly morning of Feb. 22, 2004, Betty Bigombe was racing around her cozy condo in Chevy Chase, Md. She was focused on paying bills, packing for a business trip, and hoping to squeeze in a workout.

Walking past her bedroom TV, she suddenly froze. In her native Uganda, the anchor said, the Lord's Resistance Army had just massacred more than 200 villagers. They had forced entire families to stay inside huts - then set the houses alight, shooting anyone who ran out. Ms. Bigombe remembers whispering, "Oh, my God, I can't believe it's still happening."

Her own picture appeared on the screen. The reporter explained that Bigombe, a former government minister in Uganda, was the one person who'd ever gotten the rebels and the government close to peace. But that was back in 1994.

Now the ongoing barbarity in her homeland filled her with shame. Standing there in her nightgown, she was deeply torn. Should she go back to Uganda to help? Could she afford to lose her well-paying job at the World Bank? Could she stand to leave her college-age daughter alone in the US? After hours of pondering, she concluded, "Maybe ... maybe I can give it another try."

Read full story at csmonitor.com by Abraham McLaughlin, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, September 13, 2005.



Photo: Betty Bigombe with Lord's Resistance Army negotiators. (James Akena/Reuters/CS Monitor)

Betty Bigombe biography

1954 Born in northern Uganda

1981-84 Became corporate secretary of the Uganda Mining Corporation

1986 Elected to parliament

1988 Appointed minister of state for pacification of northern Uganda

1993 Named Uganda's 'Woman of the Year' for her peace efforts

1997 Received master's degree from Harvard

1997 Appointed senior social scientist at postconflict department of the World Bank

Children: Pauline and Emmanuel



Photo: FREED: Betty Bigombe (center) with two Ugandan women who were kidnapped as girls and raped by LRA commanders. Recently, the women and their children escaped their captors. (Courtesy of Joyce NEU/Joan B Kroc Institute for Justice & Peace/CS Monitor)



Timeline

Click here to see at a glance Uganda's fitful path toward peace under Museveni.



Pictured above is President Meseveni Inking his thumb after casting a ballot in the 1996 elections. (Tomoaki Nakano/AP/CS Monitor)



Photo: FLEEING After rebel attacks, villagers jump in Army trucks. (Karel Prinsloo/AP/CS Monitor)

Sudan: Spotlight on Darfur 1 and The Darfur Collection

Huge thanks to Catez Stevens in New Zealand for initiating and hosting Spotlight on Darfur 1, a great round up of posts authored by 14 different bloggers from around the world.



Catez also produced The Darfur Collection last May.

Please email Catez at Allthings2all if you have a post for the next Spotlight on Darfur 2 or 3.

Picture courtesy Tim Sweetman's post Let Us Weep.

Thanks to Global Voices for their third post and links to my blog Congo Watch featuring this initiative.

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all aid bloggers blogburst

Ugandan asylum seekers being deported from the UK?

Today, I came across a post at Uganda Anarchism entitled "Uganda women to be traded by UK & Uganda governments" and do not know what to make of it. Parts of the post make serious accusations of asylum seekers' ill treatment in the UK. Note this excerpt:

"They dump us in detention centres where we suffer again from poor medical attention, bad food, harassment and sexual intimidation by male staff, false accusations and racism causing us more trauma. We have been denied the opportunity to make our claims properly through cuts in legal aid, negligent or even corrupt lawyers, and racism and sexism in decisions refusing our claims.

Some of us have been forced onto planes with the most appalling brutality and regardless of the justice of our claim. Women are continuing to fight for our rights and against deportation - we deserve safe accommodation not imprisonment, because we are not criminals, we are simply asylum seekers who deserve protection under international law. It would be better to die in a British rather than a Ugandan detention centre."

Corrupt lawyers? Appalling brutality? Considering everything else they say about their treatment UK, they make it sound worse than Uganda, the country they fear returning to. If their experience in the UK is as bad, which I do not believe for one moment, why do they want to stay? I hesitated at posting a link to this report but could not bear to ignore it, just incase someone, somewhere on the Internet reads this and may be able to help somehow, even to help the people concerned when they arrive back in Uganda.

Making serious claims of maltreatment, brutality, corruption, etc., within a country in which one is fighting to stay does not seem at all sensible. British authorities will know such allegations are a nonsense which casts doubt on the truth of their reasons for claiming asylum. All I know is I certainly could not do the job of an immigration officer. I would find it all too heartbreaking and let everyone in. It must be very difficult for everyone involved. I am sorry to read about anyone in such a predicament and hope things work out for the best for all concerned. God bless them all.

Katrina aid - Blogbursts - Spotlight on Darfur 1 and Darfur Collection

Further to an earlier post here below, I have just received word from Catez saying Spotlight on Darfur has been put forward to 5 September as the blogosphere has had planned blogbursts on Hurricane Katrina aid.

This means bloggers can email Catez with posts until Sunday 4 September.

Thanks to Global Voices for picking up on my post at Congo Watch publicising the initiative.

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all Hurricane Katrina aid bloggers blogburst Global Voices

Spotlight on Darfur 1 and The Darfur Collection

Last May, Catez Stevens at Allthings2all in New Zealand kindly put together The Darfur Collection.

Now, Catez is initiating and hosting Spotlight on Darfur 1 starting September 1. It will feature posts on the current Darfur situation from various bloggers. If you are a blogger and would like to send in a post for inclusion in the Spotlight on Darfur please email Catez for details.

Eugene Oregon at Coalition for Darfur helpfully writes Reminder: Spotlight on Darfur 1.

Note, Catez is planning a regular series of Spotlight on Darfur. If you have missed Darfur 1, there is still plenty of time to prepare a post for Spotlight on Darfur 2 or 3 or 4 ...

Uganda, UNHCR struggle with refugee predicament

Report at China's People's Daily Online, August 30, 2005:

The Ugandan government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are struggling to cope with the increasing number of refugees in the east African country.

UNHCR officials told journalists at their office in Kampala last Friday that the UN agency is facing some difficulties in handling the refugee situation in Uganda.

Uganda is host to about 230,000 registered refugees from neighboring countries. Of them 188,000 are from Sudan, 20,000 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 18,000 from Rwanda and 4,000 from other countries. There are also some 40,000 refugees who are not registered within the UNHCR.

There are 68 refugee settlement camps in the country.

It is this vast population of refugees that is making it hard for the Ugandan government as well as the UNHCR to operate.

Uganda's Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Moses Ali, recently said that his ministry continues to face the problem of the ever-dwindling resources for the implementation of refugee programs.

The UNHCR has also started facing funding problems. According to Snezana Sazdic, a UNHCR official in Kampala, the agency's overall budget has been cut to about 92.5 percent.

Currently in Uganda, the UNHCR has suspended funding income- generating units of refugees. The funding of environmental management programs in the refugee settlement areas have also been halted due to lack of resources.

It should be noted that over 90 percent of the refugees in Uganda make their living by farming. Therefore these refugees will have to depend on food handouts from humanitarian agencies after their land being degraded since they have no alternative.

INFLUX OF REFUGEES

More conflicts in the region have led to the continuous influx of refugees into Uganda.

Many Congolese continue to flee eastern DRC because of the conflicts between militia groups. Recently, hundreds crossed the border to Uganda after the Mai Mai militia dislodged the DRC-Goma rebels from their bases.

In recent months, hundreds of refugees have fled Rwanda claiming that they are persecuted.

According to UNHCR, all the Rwandese refugees were supposed to be repatriated by mid last June but the whole process was stalled with only 1,500 having been voluntarily repatriated.

Also in recent months, thousands of Sudanese crossed from southern Sudan to northern Uganda, claiming that the security situation there was not safe for them. Some said that the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels fighting the Uganda government attacked their communities.

The LRA have their bases in southern Sudan from where they launch attacks against the Ugandan government.

According to UNHCR, about 6,000 Sudanese are expected to be repatriated by the end of 2005. UNHCR officials say that many Sudanese in Uganda are willing to go back home provided certain infrastructure is in place.

CHALLENGES FROM INSIDE

In hosting refugees, the Ugandan government continues to face some challenges from inside.

Recently there were conflicts between the locals and the refugees. The local community complained of government giving the land to refugees and yet some Ugandans do not have land.

Last year, there were also reports of local politicians encroaching and grabbing land allocated to the refugees.

Minister Moses Ali warned that the government is going to crack down on these politicians.

The government and the UNHCR also face a problem of the unfavorable security situation in northern Uganda. The region has for the last 19 years faced a rebellion by LRA rebels. There have been some targeted attacks by the LRA on refugee settlements in which a number of refugees died.

In 2002, the LRA attacked one of the refugee settlements in northern Uganda, killing many Sudanese refugees, which forced the government to resettle the refugees to another part of the country.

WAY OUT

Though Uganda may be facing some hard time in addressing the refugee situation, there are some indicators showing that at least some work has been done.

The Ugandan government has now finalized with the refugee bill, which has been submitted to parliament for approval. It is expected that the bill will strengthen the mechanisms to protect refugees and bring Uganda's refugee policy in conformity with international law.

The Ugandan government with assistance from donors has integrated refugee issues on the development agenda by adopting a framework of Development Assistance for Refugees (DAR).

DAR is a development program that is intended to help refugee- hosting districts cope with the impact of refugees by being dedicated to the improvement of social conditions in the hosting communities.

In 1999, the Uganda government and the UNHCR initiated the Self Reliance Strategy, under which residential and agricultural land has been allocated to the refugees.

Service delivery systems such as education and health have been integrated. For instance, the UNHCR sponsors the university education of some Sudanese refugees. The refugees are also given agricultural implements and seeds so that they can ensure self reliance on the food they grew by themselves.

Source: Xinhua

Twenty New Camps to be Created in Pader District

Michael at Uganda-CAN August 26, 2005 reveals:

Twenty New Camps to be Created in Pader District:

Uganda's New Vision reports that the government representative in Pader District--currently the district in northern Uganda most devastated by the war--has announced that twenty new camps for Ugandans displaced by the conflict are to be created.

Resident District Commissioner of Pader Sylvester Opira noted that construction of new camps would relieve congestion in existing camps, allow displaced people to move closer to their homes to harvest food on their land, and dispel ideas that the Government of Uganda hopes to seize the lands for its own use or profit.

Uganda-CAN is currently exploring prospects for complete dismantling of the camps. Civil conflicts in Uganda's past have all been dealt with without needing to confine locals to camps, and conditions in the camps breed disease and despair. It is unclear what the implications for civilian protection and peacebuilding would be if such a move were made.

Tag: Uganda refugee camps displaced

Over 6,000 Sudanese refugees in Uganda to be repatriated

Over 6,000 Sudanese refugees in Uganda are to be repatriated, says report at ReliefWeb Aug 26.

Note, currently, there are over 188,000 Sudanese refugees in Uganda. The Sudanese refugees take the biggest percentage of the 230,000 refugees in Uganda. Other refugees in the east African country are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and others.

Tags: Sudan Africa Uganda DR Congo

Lancet publishes research on sleeping sickness by Eric Fevre, University of Edinburgh

Note in this report by AFP about an epidemic of sleeping sickness spreading in Uganda, how a bite on a human by a blood-sucking tsetse fly carrying the Trypanosoma parasite from cattle to humans, initially causes fever, exhaustion and aching muscles and joints, leading within weeks or months to progressive confusion, personality changes and seizures as the infection invades the central nervous system. Sounds familiar. I've heard of similar symptoms emerging as a result of tick (Lyme disease) and spider bites here in England. The report posted at Sudan Tribune is copied here in full for future reference.

Aug 26, 2005 (AFP Paris) - A five-year-old effort to curb sleeping sickness in part of southern Uganda has failed, according to a study that says the dangerous epidemic has now spread to other districts.

Sleeping sickness, a potentially fatal disease if not tackled in its early stages, is caused by the Trypanosoma parasite, transmitted from cattle to humans by the blood-sucking tsetse fly.

In 2000, the authorities in Soroti district, southern Uganda, launched a control programme, dosing cattle with long-acting drugs to kill the parasite, after tests showed that as much as 18 percent of local herds were carrying the parasite.

But the latest study, based on blood tests carried out in the area in April 2004, shows that the main parasite strain is present in 22 percent of local cattle and similar infection rates occur among cattle in three villages just outside the intervention area.

In addition, infections have been reported in the district of Kaberamaido, potentially putting another 133,000 people at risk, and in the southern part of Lira district.

An especial worry is that the spreading epidemic could eventually overlap with another epidemic of sleeping sickness which is unfolding in Uganda's northwest and in southern Sudan.

The two epidemics are caused by different parasites that need different diagnostic tools and drugs, so an overlap would greatly add to treatment costs.

The research, which appears in this Saturday's issue of the British weekly The Lancet, is lead-authored by Eric Fevre of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

His team reckons that 428 cases of sleeping sickness were diagnosed in Soroti over the five-year period, but as many as 300 more may have gone unspotted.

Fevre blames livestock movements, abetted by instability in southern Uganda, as the cause for the failure in Soroti.

In East Africa, sleeping sickness is endemic to parts of Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia as well as Uganda.

The parasite initially causes fever, exhaustion and aching muscles and joints, leading within weeks or months to progressive confusion, personality changes and seizures as the infection invades the central nervous system.

Tag: Uganda Sudan tsetse sleeping sickness Lancet parasite cattle Lyme disease chronic fatigue central nervous system fever Africa Kenya

Uganda 'mismanaging' Aids money - Uganda to expel DR Congo rebels

The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has suspended its grants to Uganda because of "serious mismanagement" of funds.

An investigation carried out for the Global Fund said it found a shortfall when grants in dollars were converted into Ugandan shillings.

Full story at BBC Aug 24, 2005.
- - -

Uganda to expel DR Congo rebels

Uganda has announced it will expel six rebels from Democratic Republic of Congo after the UN voiced its concern over their presence in the county.

Uganda's internal affairs minister said the men had been declared persona non grata and must leave by Thursday.

The six are part of a group the UN says planned to use Uganda to launch a rebel movement to seize power in DR Congo.

UN Security Council resolutions oblige Uganda to prevent its territory from being used by regional armed groups.

[Why is there not such a resolution for Sudan?]

Full story at BBC Aug 24, 2005.

Tags: DR Congo Congo Uganda rebels Sudan UN Global Fund AIDS

More attacks on press freedom in East Africa

Note Ethan's post on Ethiopia and Uganda concerning more attacks on press freedom in East Africa.

Tag: Uganda

Uganda: Fight for Souls: Christians Take On Witchdoctors in Kawempe

Just as I got to thinking about how too many Africans believe in hocus pocus, I came across Steven's post about an article on Uganda at AllAfrica saying Christians Take On Witchdoctors in Kawempe. Excerpt:

"Dr." Moses Kiwanda is one of the most recognised witchdoctors in Kawempe Division and he has no qualms revealing their strategy.

Kiwanda says that the witchdoctors see the church - specifically the Born Agains - as opponents that must be fought.

He intimates that they too will in the near future begin holding public gatherings to preach their message, very much similar to the gospel crusades that the Born again churches are famed for.

"And we shall also go from door to door telling people what we can do, just like these Born Agains are doing" he says.

How sad.

Tag: Uganda

25 LRA rebels killed - Kony to be indicted for war crimes

A report by Reuters today says war crimes indictments for Kony and five of his top officers are expected to be issued soon by the International Criminal Court. Excerpt:

Ugandan troops backed by helicopter gunships killed at least 25 rebels in separate clashes on both sides of the border with southern Sudan, the Ugandan army said on Wednesday.

The military attacked Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighters in northern Uganda's Kitgum district on Monday, army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Shaban Bantariza said, and again on Wednesday in Sudan's lawless Imatong Mountains.

"This afternoon in southern Sudan's Kit Valley we caught up with an LRA group and killed between 15 and 20 of those thugs," he said. "We are still identifying the bodies."

Bantariza said a group led by LRA deputy commander Vincent Otti was spotted on Monday trying to carry food to LRA leader Joseph Kony in Uganda's Kitgum district.

"We ambushed them, beat them up and killed 10," he said.

Kitgum is 450 km (280 miles) north of the capital Kampala.

He said it was too early to confirm a report that Monday's dead included an LRA self-styled "high priest", Abonga Pappa.

For 19 years the cult-like LRA has terrorised remote communities on both sides of the border, uprooting 1.6 million people in northern Uganda alone and triggering what aid workers call one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

The LRA, which is founded on religious symbolism, traditional rites and fear, has never given a clear account of its aims beyond opposing Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.

It is notorious for targeting civilians, mutilating survivors and kidnapping thousands of children who are forced to serve the group as fighters, porters and sex slaves.

Under a 2002 deal with Khartoum, Uganda's military can attack the rebels in southern Sudan, where the LRA's elusive Kony is believed to sometimes hide.

Landmark talks to end the war stalled earlier this year, and war crimes indictments for Kony and five of his top officers are expected to be issued soon by the International Criminal Court.

Security sources in northern Uganda say fewer LRA abductions in recent weeks suggest the rebels are under increasing pressure from the army.

UPDATE: More news from Michael at Uganda-CAN on a possible third rebel commander to be killed in the past few months.

Tag: Uganda

Land Insecurity Reveals Complexity of Suffering in Northern Uganda

From Paul at Uganda-CAN August 16, 2005 - Land Insecurity Reveals Complexity of Suffering in Northern Uganda:

Land insecurity in northern Uganda, caused by displacement and an inadequate legal framework and protection of land rights, has been an obstacle to peace efforts for over a decade. Though those displaced from their land suffer the worst insecurity, landowners hosting IDP camps have also endured property damage and inadequate legal protection. Though the needs of IDPs weigh more heavily than standard property rights, clearly guaranteeing certain property rights is essential for trust-building between the central government and northern Ugandans. Judy Adoko, a land rights activist in Uganda working for a Uganda-CAN partner organization, the Land and Equity Movement in Uganda, reports from the ground about the challenges of balancing human need and land rights.

Bosco's family (name changed) has hosted IDPs on their land since 1986, and are currently under threat of losing their family land. Bosco, a young man, inherited the land through his deceased father, Patrick. Recently, Bosco came to Land and Equity Movement in Uganda (LEMU) to seek legal advice because some of the IDPs have started building permanent houses on his land and have cut all the vegetation down. Some IDPs now claim that since they have lived on the land for a long time, the land belongs to them and they are protected by the central government.

Bosco has tried to inform people of his rights to land and to stop them from building permanent houses on his land but the people are very aggressive. Bosco believes that the suffering has made people very aggressive. Some of the local authorities support the IDPs. Bosco has other uncles who have supported him to claim rights over his father's land.

On 3rd January 2005, he and his clan members and neighbours put mark stones (not survey stones) all around their land and drew a map showing the boundaries. To support Bosco, LEMU also wrote a legal brief to the authorities and IDPs in Katakwi district to advise them that in the absence of a legal compulsory acquisition of land by the government followed by prompt, fair and adequate compensation of the land to Bosco's family, the land still belongs to Bosco and his family.

His actions do not necessarily mean he wants the IDPs to leave and return to unsafe homes, but that he is merely trying to protect his land rights and ensure displacement is not permanent. However, legal red-tape has prevented the Bosco dilemma, common throughout northern Uganda, from getting the attention it deserves.

Look for more analysis of land insecurity in northern Uganda on the Uganda-CAN website within the coming weeks.

Tag: Uganda

Winner-Take-All the Bane of Africa

Opinion piece in The Nation (Nairobi) via allAfrica.com August 4, 2005 by Richard Dowden:

Africa's winner-takes-all politics lie at the heart of everything that has gone wrong with the continent. It is the reason why it has fallen behind the rest of the world economically, and the reason for its wars and poverty.

Its roots go back to the creation of African states themselves, the lines drawn on maps by the European colonial powers at the end of the 19th century. The process eventually produced fifty-three states overlaying some 10,000 pre-existing societies and political entities.

Nigeria is a prime example. It has three big tribes and more than 400 ethnic groups, yet its people have to elect one president and one government.

By comparison, imagine a Europe whose larger tribes (Germans, French, British) and 25 European Union states were united by force (not referendum); where the French are Muslim, the Germans Catholic, the British Protestant; where the only source of income (oil) is under German control; and where, if anyone mentions putting their own people first or forming an alliance with another ethnic group, they are accused of being "tribalist" and endangering the future of the state.

African states, with a few exceptions, have no common understanding of nationhood. Their flags, national anthems, and identities were created by outsiders. Patriotism, in the good sense of positive loyalty to one's country, is in short supply.

Private bank account

If you want power, you play the ethnic card or smear your religious rivals. When you achieve power, you bring your own people into government - and even more important, into the army.

The State treasury becomes your private bank account. When you run for election, the entire state structure and all its officials are at your disposal. If anyone inside the continent says anything, you accuse them of interfering in internal affairs. If anyone outside Africa criticises you, you accuse them of racism and neo-colonialism.

It's a simple formula, one that has worked brilliantly for President Robert Mugabe, and many others.

Those new to Africa are often struck by a contrast: how individualistic and cynical African politicians are, and how communal and hopeful most African citizens are. Between rulers and the ruled, there seems to be little connection or even shared values. The result is a dysfunctional political culture.

Despite it, some countries have worked. Botswana has been coup-free and relatively corruption-free. The presidency has passed through three safe pairs of hands. Tanzania remains virtually a one-party state, but the recent election of a new presidential candidate was as democratic as it gets. Ghana and Senegal have both changed governments through elections.

None of these states are free from problems of regional or ethnic discontent; Botswana with the San Bushmen, Tanzania with Zanzibar, and Senegal and Ghana with minorities that feel excluded.

Other states like Uganda and Kenya seemed to be coming right then fell back into old problems. Uganda under Yoweri Museveni was the darling of aid-giving governments for years, to the extent that aid supplied more than half its budget. But now he seems determined to change the constitution to extend his rule.

In Kenya, the corrupt old regime of Daniel arap Moi was replaced in December 2002 through the stunning electoral victory of an opposition alliance led by President Mwai Kibaki. Two years on, Kenya seems to have become even more corrupt than before.

Then there are the big holes on the map: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria itself - all ruled in great parts by local barons and warlords and where there is no democracy despite, in Nigeria's case at least, elections.

This overall picture makes the prospect of turning Africa around with aid and debt relief seem at best problematic, at worst a pipedream.

Uganda illustrates the terrible dilemma facing those who wish to help Africans improve their lives. To punish Museveni by cutting aid could mean hurting millions of Ugandans who are beginning to see real change. The country is so dependent on aid that dropping it would risk destroying the economic gains it has made in recent years.

Museveni knows the donors, and their moral scruples, well. He will take huge risks with his country's future to stay in power. Will he, after all he has achieved, throw it all away? As they used to say of Moi in Kenya: "If you are the only one on the teat, it does not matter how thin the cow gets."

Such hard-boiled calculations do not enter the soft world of Live8 concerts and the campaigns for debt relief and more aid. This aid-agency-driven agenda - on prominent display at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland - creates the illusion that the hungry African child the NGOs use in their fundraising propaganda can be directly reached by individual donor money.

I was delighted when Bob Geldof said he did not want Western citizens' money - only their support - because there are things the West can do for Africa apart from giving it money. Or rather there are damaging things the West can stop doing, barriers it can remove to give Africa a real chance to earn its living in the world and develop.

First, the West can fight to end two kinds of subsidies - the agricultural subsidies for farmers in Europe, America and Japan that keep world prices low and squeeze African commodities out of the global market, and the export subsidies that allow cheap food to be dumped in Africa, destroying African markets.

Second, the West should look closely at the "external" dimension of corruption in Africa. Britain has resisted signing the UN Convention on Corruption and British companies are fighting regulations that would make them responsible for corrupt practices by their agents as well as their own staff.

Reform immigration policy

Third, the west must stop encouraging the brain-drain from Africa. There are said to be more Malawian nurses in England's Birmingham than in Malawi itself, a country ravaged by HIV/Aids.

Fourth, the arms and mines that kill in Africa's wars may mostly be made in the former Soviet Union, but the dealers are based mainly in London and the deals are made in its financial district. They are not licensed or regulated in any way. This should change.

Fifth, the West must reform its immigration policy. Thousands of Africans living in Britain or trying to come here are left with an impression of Britain somewhat at odds with Tony Blair's passion for Africa. I spent a day and half trying to get a visa for a well-known Ugandan MP scheduled to speak at a meeting I was organising. Not even the intervention by the new minister for Africa, David Triesman, could move the Home Office to deliver it in time.

Sustainable Development

All these points were touched on in the Commission for Africa report, published in March 2005. At its launch, Premier Blair said the report's recommendations were now British policy. If he were serious, then relevant legislative proposals and the parliamentary time to discuss them should have been part of the government's programme for 2005-06. But the mentions of Africa in the Queen's speech that announced this programme were vague and exhortatory.

Mr Dowden is director of the Royal Africa Society

Uganda fears Garang's death may prolong brutal war with LRA rebels

Due to extensive posting at Sudan Watch and Niger Watch, original commentary here at Uganda Watch is still sparse. In order to keep up with logging the latest on Sudan and Uganda, I have to rely on using clips from mainstream media. Apologies to Peter at Uganda-CAN - and others - for not yet posting various links. Hope to catch up soon.

Meanwhile, here is a copy of an AFP report Aug 2 via SudanTribune entitled "Uganda fears Garang's death may prolong brutal war with LRA rebels":

"To me, this is a blow to our peace process," northern Ugandan lawmaker Reagan Okumu said of Garang's death on Saturday when the Ugandan helicopter in which he was returning to Sudan crashed in poor weather.

"Garang had personal attachment with the people in northern Uganda and it was hoped that if he took firm control over southern Sudan, this LRA menace will cease," he told AFP.

In fact, Garang’s last public comments, made here before his ill-fated flight, were a vow to flush the LRA and its elusive leader Joseph Kony out of southern Sudan from where they have launched savage raids into northern Uganda for 19 years.

"Joseph Kony won't be hiding there for long," the 60-year-old leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army and newly appointed first vice president of Sudan told Uganda's state-run New Vision newspaper on Friday.

"We need to provide peace, security and stability," he said ahead of talks on security in the region with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, in whose helicopter he would perish 24 hours later.

Such remarks endeared him to the Ugandan military and the civilian population of rural northern Uganda which has been systematically terrorized by the LRA's mass killings, rapes, mutilations and abductions of children for nearly a generation.

"He was committed to joining hands with us to stop this rural terrorism," said Ugandan army spokesman Shaban Bantariza. "But all this is lost now, we only hope that others will continue from where he ended."

While acknowleging an impact on the LRA rebellion, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands and displaced more than 1.6 million people, Bantariza insisted Garang's death would not make it easier for the guerrillas to fight.

"The unfortunate incident in Sudan does not favor them at all," he told AFP.

Others are not so certain, however, noting reports that LRA fighters had been heard rejoicing and celebrating at the news of Garang's death in intercepted radio transmissions from northern Uganda and southern Sudan.

"Some pressure on them is erased by the death of Garang for some time," said an analyst for an internationally respected think tank who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of his work in the region.

"A peace process is multi-faceted," the analyst said. "The SPLA and Garang in this case were part of the dynamics that were shaping it in Uganda."

Of most concern to him and to church and community leaders in northern Uganda most affected by the LRA's reign of terror is the potential for Garang’s death to derail the January 9 north-south Sudan peace deal.

They said the pact that ended Africa's longest-running civil war is critical to restoring stability in southern Sudan and, in the process, dealing with LRA who have camped there for years with the backing of the Sudanese government.

Damage to the Sudan agreement from Garang's absence could have "dire consequences" for attempts to resolve the conflict in northern Uganda, the analyst said, a sentiment echoed in the region.

"If his death disrupts peace in southern Sudan, this may affect us negatively," said Father Carlos Rodriguez, a Catholic priest in Gulu district which has been the epicenter of the LRA war.

"A peaceful southern Sudan is a guarantee for peace for us in northern Uganda," he told AFP by phone from Gulu town.

Sudanese VP Dr John Garang DeMabior, 13 Others Die in Plane Crash

More news on the tragic death of Dr Garang at Sudan Watch: Sudan's first VP and former rebel leader killed.

Tags: Garang Uganda Darfur Africa

Sudan VP Garang killed in crash

Yesterday, a BBC news report said John Garang was on his way back to Sudan from Uganda when his plane or helicopter went missing for several hours. Later on in the evening, the report was updated saying he was safe and well.

This morning it was a shock to see a new BBC report saying he was killed in crash.

Here is a copy of today's report:

Sudan's Vice-President John Garang, a former rebel leader, has been killed in a crash, the government has said.

Mr Garang had been missing since Saturday, when contact was lost with his helicopter flying back from Uganda.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher says Mr Garang's importance in holding together southern Sudan cannot be overstated.

He was greeted as a peacemaker by more than a million people when he was sworn in three weeks ago as part of a deal ending a decades-long civil war.

His death will be a huge blow to the Sudanese people, our correspondent adds.

Mr Garang's former rebel movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, is said to have held a crisis meeting in Nairobi when news of a possible crash began to spread.

Mr Garang steered the group through a bloody 21-year civil war against the government in the north.

He ruled it with an iron hand, imprisoning or killing anyone who threatened to stand in his way.

But he managed to keep the disparate movement together, despite many disagreements.

The conflict in Sudan ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January, and Mr Garang became vice-president in a new government of national unity.

He declared the peace agreement a "great battle and a major victory".

The dignity of the southern people, he said, had been restored: "Nobody will take us for granted - we have come to stay".

With his death the future of peace in Sudan is once more in the balance, correspondents say.

Sudan's Garang warns Uganda's Kony

From Uganda's "New Vision"... [via Passion of the Present - with thanks]:

Sudanese First Vice- President 1st Lt. Gen. John Garang has given Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels an ultimatum to to leave southern Sudan.

Until Wednesday evening, Garang was a colonel, a rank he has held since 1983 when he deserted the Sudan army.

In an exclusive interview with the New Vision, Garang said he was going to deal firmly with the militias operating in southern Sudan, in order to rebuild the war-ravaged region.

"Kony won't be hiding there for long. It is not only Kony, but also all the militias who have been operating in the area. We need to provide peace, security and stability, so the militias including those that were formerly supported by the government, must be disbanded."

Garang flew into the country aboard a chartered plane yesterday for a meeting with president Yoweri Museveni. The meeting took place at Rwakitura in Mbarara.

Garang was met at Entebbe Airport by Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya and the Minister for Regional Cooperation, Nshimye Sebuturo. He flew to Rwakitura aboard President Museveni's helicopter.

The former Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) leader, who controlled southern Sudan before the peace deal with the Khartoum Government, said the priority of his government was to resettle displaced people and remove camps of the internally displaced people and return the Sudanese refugees.

He said there were between three to four million Sudanese refugees outside the country who need to be returned and resettled.

He said his government had started rebuilding the infrastructure in the devastated region, which is home to over 12 million people.

Garang said in the next week, the 10 Supervisors for the 10 southern Sudanese states would have taken office to oversee the building of the infrastructure.

The infrastructure to be rebuilt includes roads and railways in southern Sudan and those linking it with Uganda and Kenya, water facilities and financial institutions.