Introduction.
In March 2005, it was announced that the former president of Uganda Dr A Milton
Obote might be returning home from exile. The excitement was palpable. All
radio talk shows, newspaper pages for the months of March & April were taken up
by the news. Even more excited, was the UPDF government. They thought just like
it managed to achieve with its other opponnents (see or 14th issue) it was
about to do the same with Dr. Obote.
Then the UPDF government received a bombshell. The UPC (Dr Obote's party)
inside Uganda announced that any such return of the "Party President" would
have to be determined by the people (i.e members of UPC) and not through any
shadowy agreements involving the UPDF government. This clearly was NOT the news
the dictatorship had hoped for. Its reposit was quick and characteristic of the
UPDF. It said as soon as the UPC Party President stepped on Ugandan soil, Dr
Obote would be taken to court for alleged crimes committed by his army whilst
he was still in power. Dr Obote's reply was simple - "I'll be coming and see
you in court".
That the UPC president may be confident of any such trial (were it to come to
that) has to do with the fact that so many records have been kept of the
activities of the UPDF as a rebel army whilst it fought the democratically
elected UPC government. The UPC contend that countless massacres were carried
out by the UPDF, many whilst impersonating the then government army, the UNLA
e.g. a senior member of the UPDF (Pecos Kutesa) revealed on a Ugandan radio
programme that " his role within the UPDF was that of impersonating the UNLA".
Whilst another senior UPDF officer (Gen. Otafire) revealed recently that
"they/UPDF used tricks to turn the local people against the government". These
tricks/impersonations were nothing but massacres on a large scale carried out
by the UPDF and blamed on their opponent (just like the UPDF are currently
doing in Nothern Uganda).
Furthermore, a leading Ugandan human rights campaigner explained. He said that
during the UPDF bush war, the UPDF rebel outfit had a tense relationship with
another rebel group then fighting the UPC government. The leader of that other
rebel group - Andrew Kayira, was at one time called for a meeting with Gen.
Museveni. When Kayira got to Museveni's rebel hideout, he found Museveni seated
in an island. Surrounding Museveni, were decapitated human heads. Kayira
counted 30 human heads in all. Museveni then went on to tell Kayira that "this
is how I
UPDF exact revenge.......
On the evening of 24 February 2005, a UPDF lorrry entered an LRA ambush at
Latanya in Lagoro subcounty, Chua county in Kitgum district. When news reached
civilians that UPDF losses numbered upto 30 soldiers, people feared the worst.
For it has become common practise, in the 19 years that the UPDF have been in
Northern Uganda that whenever the UPDF suffer any losses, it comes after the
civilian population, seeking revenge. It was against this backdrop that the two
camps situated near Latanya - Kitgum Matidi and Lagoro, waited for the UPDF
backlash fearing the worst.
The UPDF entered Kitgum Matidi camp at about 8pm. Any male person whether young
or old that the UPDF came across were simply grabbed and taken to the compound
of what used to be Kitgum Matidi primary school. Many dozen civilians were
taken. It was at the "primary school" that work/the torture began. The
civilians received relentless beatings right through the night. It is unclear
how many may have lost the battle for life. But in the morning of 25 February
2005, St. Joseph's hospital Kitgum received many civilians with head injuries.
For example Mr. Olanya was admitted requiring 15 stitches to his head wound. He
spent the whole of February and March 2005 at St. Joseph's hospital.
At Lagoro camp, the people knowing what the UPDF would do, went to bed early.
By 7pm, there was no sign of human activity at Lagoro camp. But even this did
not deter the UPDF. The UPDF went from hut to hut plucking out civilians. Many
were taken away by the UPDF and until today have never been seen nor heard from
again (presumed to have been killed by the UPDF). Two of those presumed dead
are James Nyeko and John Okech. Mrs Nyeko was tortured and raped whilst her
husband was being taken away by the UPDF. The following day, she was taken to
the nearby Kitgum Matidi dispensary, but the nurses there could not safe her
baby (she had a miscarriage).
Lagungu-gungu in Rackoko...
On 18 February 2005, a group of 14 year old girls set off from Rac-koko in Aruu
county to go and harvest grass to thatch their parents' huts. They left the
camp for Bolo village, all in Pader district. Some of the girls were identified
as Sunday Amony, Lawino, Ayugi and Maria.
It was as they left that they noticed they were being followed by a group of
UPDF soldiers (the girls counted 13 government soldiers). Whilst the UPDF have
got a sinister reputation, the girls hopped for the best and that "God willing"
nothing terrible would happen to them. When they reached the village and
started cutting the grass they went for, the same group of UPDF soldiers
emerged from nowhere. As a pretext, one of the UPDF soldiers started making
claims
that Sunday Amony was infact his ex-wife who ran away from him whilst he was at
Pajule. This prompted the girls to explain to the soldiers that their friend at
14, was a year 2 secondary pupil at Rac-Koko secondary. The rest of the UPDF
soldiers then came and grabbed Amony and carried her to a last remaining hut,
in an abandoned home. Soon afterwards, the girls could hear Amony's scream. The
rest of the UPDF soldiers then came for the remaining girls.
Maria decided not to wait for what was coming. She ran as fast as she could but
the 3 UPDF soldiers who were giving her chase caught up with. The UPDF then
beat Maria until blood was oozing from her head. Maria was brought back and
raped with the rest of her friends.
After the UPDF had finished with the girls, they warned them that should the
girls report what had happenned to them to people in the camp, they (the UPDF)
would come back and kill all of them, including members of their family.
Despite the threats, the girls reported the incident to people at the camp and
the matter was taken to the UPDF authorities. But as as ever, nothing was done
to the UPDF rapists.
Aringa massacre, the true story...
In April 2005, it was reported in the Ugandan media that the UPDF shot and
killed 5 Acholi women who had gone fishing. The report further said the UPDF
mistakenly took the 5 women for LRA rebels. This, like much of the stories
coming out of Northern Uganda through official channels was nothing but a
distortion of what actually took place (such lies are often propagated by the
UPDF to keep whoever wants to know in the dark about what REALLY is happening
in Northern Uganda). Here is the truth of what happenned.
On 22 April 2005, about 20 civilians left Mucwini camp to go fishing in Aringa
river (about 1.5 kms away). The civilan party included both women, men and the
youth. The civilians travelled in groups. When the first group finished
fishing, they then left Aringa heading back for the camp. This group included
mainly women and the youth. As the civilian party travelled towards the camp,
they came across soldiers of the UPDF. The UPDF did not bother with them (they
were not stopped nor were they asked any questions). When the second group of
civilians came across the same group of UPDF soldiers who numbered about 15,
they were all ordered to stop and sit down. It was at this point that the UPDF
started demanding to see the civilians ID. The civilians explained everything
to the UPDF (i.e. that they were from Mucwini camp, which was only 15 minute
walk away and that if they UPDF did not believe them, they could go and meet
the camp leader).
The UPDF's reaction to the civilians' explanation was to unleash bouts of
beatings. It was whilst the civilians who numbered about a dozen were being
beaten that another (unrelated civilian) emerged out of the bush carrying a
piece of stick. This latest civilian had been hunting wild beast (for food).
The UPDF did not waste time with him by asking for his identitification. He was
shot on the spot. Having shot the first civilian the UPDF then turned its
attention to the other people it was holding. The UPDF started shooting them.
At this point some of the men got up and started running for their lives. The
UPDF rained fire on them too. Those who were seated, including 4 women were
shot by the UPDF whilst they sat down. When the UPDF had finished, 10 people
had been killed. The eleventh person who narrated to people in the camp what
actually happened, died the following day from gunshot wounds.
Whilst this was a massacre the UPDF could not deny, it nevertheless came out
with one of its
template responses i.e. that it mistook the civilians for the LRA (usually it
claims that the massacres were carried out by the LRA). Whether it assumed the
civilians (who incidentally were carrying fish back to the camp) were LRA
rebels of not, the fact remains that the civilians were murdered whilst in UPDF
custody.
UPDF abduct, murder, children in Adilang....
On 9 April 2005, 4 girls set off from Adilang camp to go and collect firewood
from their abandoned homesteads. The girls who were in their mid-teens were
identified as Joska Akello, Paska Achola, Mary Akidi and Pamela Aryemo. When
the girls got to their former homestead, they separated with each going to
collect firewood in a different direction. The only survivor amongst them,
Akello narrates that as she had finished gathering her firewood, she waited in
vain for her friends. It was after a long wait that she dicided to rush back to
the camp and seek help from other people. At the camp, when she explained how
her friends had mysteriously vanished, news spread fast and people went to meet
the UPDF commander. The UPDF agreed for the civilians to go out and look for
their missing friends.
Not long after the civilians had left the camp, they came across the UPDF. The
UPDF ordered the civilians to stop. They then demanded from the civilians where
they were going. When the civilians explained, the UPDF bagan chasing them to
go back to the camp. The UPDF said it was already too late (which was strange
as the time was only 12.45pm). When the civilians showed reluctance, the UPDF
then started hitting them. Akidi's mother was hit on the head with the metal
back of a UPDF gun. She had a swollen head from beatings received from the UPDF.
On the morning of 10 April 2005 and with no news of the girls, even a larger
number of civilians decided to leave the camp to go looking for the girls. This
time the civilians did not meet with the UPDF. On reaching the suspected area,
the civilians ventured into an abandoned homestead. At the entrance, they found
Akidi's blouse drenched in blood. A few steps away they found her underwear.
When the civilians entered a hut, they found Akidi's body - with her skirt
placed upon her face. Akidi had been raped and strangled until she died.
Outside the hut, there were footmarks of soldiers all over the compound (in
Uganda, soldiers wear distinct footwear/shoes - which is unique and available
only to them). There were also empty cans of "Tyson waragi" and cigarete
filters all over the compound. The bodies of Aryemo and Achola were not found
for another week (having badly decomposed). Their remains were found far away
from where Akidi was killed. They too had been murdered in the most vicious way.
When the above murders were reported to the UPDF, they blamed the LRA. But as
everyone knows in Northern Uganda, the LRA do not drink, let alone drink "Tyson
waragi". The above murders were the actions of non other than the UPDF.
And the killings continue....
In April 2005, a local newspaper reported thus;
"GULU district councillors have accused UPDF soldiers of killing civilians in
displaced people's camps and in the villages.
The LC5 councillor for Lalogi sub-county, Ben Acellam, said the UPDF shot dead
three women in the sub-county, adding that two of them had children, one aged
seven months and another aged two.
He said the UPDF 4th division commander, Col. Nathan Mugisha, had promised to
take action against the killers but so far nothing seemed to have been done.
"UPDF soldiers are arresting and killing civilians in the villages on the
allegations that they are rebel collaborators," he said during a meeting at
Gulu district council hall on Tuesday".
Meanwhile an international radio station reported on the situation in Lango as
follows;
"Alito, Apach district, northern Uganda, - In the latest increase of satanic
ritual murders being carried out on innocent defenceless Acholi and Langi
civilians; soldiers of Uganda army on Thursday night (April 28th) killed three
Langi civilians in Alito, Apac distict north of Uganda. Eye witnesses from
Alito reported soldiers of Uganda army from a nearby government military
outpost stormed the home of their victims late in the night, brutally beat up
a couple and their neighbour, and while using sharp knives inflicted deep cuts
all over the bodies of their victims, and continued slashing the dead bodies
almost dismembering them. An eye witness who saw the identities of the killers
and witnessed the killing, confirmed it was soldiers of Uganda army from a
nearby military outpost. The witness said for fear of reprisal he was too
afraid to report to the Uganda army officers and local authorities. Speaking in
confidence to certain persons during the funeral of the couple and their
neighbour this weekend, the eye witness identified one of the government
soldiers (who turned up at the funeral) as one of those soldiers who had
slained the trio victims. Using its usual habitual line of lies and denials;
Uganda army blamed the satanic ritual murders on `soldiers of the Lords
Resistance Army.�"
UPDF rape, sodomise Padibe
On 25 March 2005, UPDF soldiers who were from Lalak hills in Padibe west
sub-county invaded Padibe camp at about 7.15pm. They began arresting men first
and making them sit under a big tree which often serves as a market during day
time. The UPDF threatened that any one who left would be shot on sight. After
the UPDF had collected most of the men, and confident that only women were left
inside the huts, the UPDF began moving from hut to hut. Any male person who was
found still inside their hut was beaten up seriously. The UPDF then demanded
that if a civilian wanted their life spared, that they should surrender all the
money that they had. The UPDF robbed civilians of money ranging from UG
shillings 100 to UG shillings 50,000. For the women, especially any that wasn't
classified as old by the UPDF, the UPDF took them to the barracks.
In all, it was estimated that the marauding UPDF soldiers went through 100
homes. By the time they had finished, the UPDF went with 29 women and 6 men to
the barracks. When the
civilians got the barracks (some of the civilians were identified as Santa
Layet, Christine Akullu, Evaline Amwony) they were all gang raped - including
the men. For fear and the stigma that normally goes with sodomy in Northern
Uganda, the men said that what the UPDF did to them was to put them in a line -
whilst they (the UPDF) unrinated all over them (the truth though was that the
UPDF sodomised the men). At around mid-night, the UPDF set the civilians free
to go back to the camp. At the camp, the civilians found the men folk still
seated underneath the big tree, even though there were no UPDF soldiers
watching over them.
The next morning, the UPDF camp commandant went with the people's complaint to
the barracks where the rape took place. And to make it appear like the
civilians' complaint was being taken seriously, the UPDF put out a statement
saying that 2 of its soldiers had been arrested. For the people of Padibe
though, who saw over 50 marauding UPDF soldiers attack their camp, even if an
arrest took place, detaining 2 out of 50 or more UPDF soldiers was was merely
another act of the UPDF of adding insult to injury.
Omiya-Anyima too...
On 20 March 2005, a UPDF officer called Agaba who was a reknowned drunkard died
as a result of excessive drinking (he had drunk a local brew called "Dete"). In
the camps, this alcohol is only sold by wives of UPDF soldiers and in most
cases such a business is carried out by the wife of the UPDF commander nearest
to the camp. Clear as the casue of death was, the UPDF blamed the people of
Omiya-Anyima for having poisoned the UPDF officer.
As a response, the UPDF commander of the camp, ordered his soldiers to go and
arrest all women who sell a slightly nutritious brew known as "kwete" and bring
them to the barracks. This arrest was carried out on 21 March 2005 in the
morning hours. Women and young girls were taken to the barracks forcibly, all
of them were accussed of poisoning Agaba. In all, a total of 43 women were
taken to the UPDF barracks, some of the women were breast feeding mothers.
On reaching the barracks, these women were made to sit in the open sunshine
(together with their babies) from morning until 4pm in the evening. At 4pm, the
UPDF released the 6 breastfeeding mothers. The rest remained with the UPDF. The
UPDF's next move was to "find out who killed Agaba" and its simplest way to do
this was to subject these women to vicious beatings. Many of the women were
left in a critical condition by the time the UPDF had finished with them. For
example - Marcelina Akun, had both her arms fractured, Ejeriana Lakwach had
several broken rib bones, Ajulina Lamon had her hib bone dislocated and many
other cases of very serious injuries inflicted by the UPDF.
At sunset, with their multiple injuries the UPDF decided to let the women go -
even without finding out "who killed Agaba". The truth of the matter is, the
UPDF knew Agaba died of excessive drinking but they saw this as an opportunity
to teach the people of Omiya-Anyima a lesson. And this is characteristic of
life in the camps, the same camps which the UPDF have forced the people of
Northern Uganda into.
UN raps UPDF on torture....
In March 2005, the influential British daily, the Daily Telegraph detailed the
horror of life for Ugandans under the UPDF. The paper wrote;
"Suspected dissidents disappear after midnight visits to their homes; chilling
screams can again be heard
from Idi Amin's infamous torture chambers, reopened after a quarter of a
century of disuse. From the few
that escape come tales of punishment beatings and even mass executions. Welcome
to President Yoweri Museveni's Uganda".
The paper gave one example;
"Last year, Yasin, a taxi driver who occasionally chauffeured a senior
opposition official around the countryside, was woken by a loud rapping at his
door a few hours before dawn. The men who had come to arrest him were not
policemen, but members of the widely feared Chieftaincy of Military
Intelligence (CMI).
Yasin knew that the CMI, a shadowy spy agency directly answerable to the
president, had no powers to arrest
anybody. But he also knew better than to question his captors. He was taken to
Makindye barracks, where some of the
worst atrocities of Amin's infamous State Research Bureau, which used to force
inmates to beat each other
to death with sledgehammers, took place in the 1970s.
"Every day for a week, they would hang me upside down and beat me with clubs,"
Yasin said. "They wanted to
know names of people working for the opposition. I kept saying I didn't know
any, but they wouldn't believe me." On his third day, Yasin watched as a fellow
inmate, an elderly man accused of recruiting for the main opposition alliance,
the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), was killed using a method known as
"Liverpool". The victim's head was placed in a bag that was repeatedly filled
with water. To breathe, he had to drink it all, but the more he drank, the more
bloated his belly became until his innards ruptured and he died in a pool of
his own urine".
In May 2005, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) accussed Uganda
of using torture especially operating torture chambers commonly known as safe
houses. The committe noted that in only 10 months in 2004, hundreds of Ugandans
died whilst in detention including many whilst being held within UPDF military
establishments (barracks). The UN body observed that the high number of
civilian deaths pointed to an unnatural causes of death e.g. death through
torture - a practise which the committee noted was widespread including at the
hands of the UPDF. As we at the Echo have regurlarly reported, in the UPDF'
Uganda, civilian life is cheap and in Northern Uganda where the friends of the
UPDF have continued to maintain a conspiracy of silence, civilian deaths at the
hands of the UPDF (through torture/killings/executions) have become an accepted
way of life.
UPDF assasinates local official....
On 12 April 2004 UPDF soldiers from the notorious Gang-Dyang barracks seriously
beat up an elderly woman whilst robbing her of UGS15,000. The incident took
place at Auch village in Kitgum municipality at around 7pm. The cry of pain
from the elderly woman attracted many people at which point the UPDF left the
scene by freely and in full view of everyone walking back to Gang Dyang
barracks.
Amongst the people who responded to the old woman's cry for help was the LC1
secretary for security and defence (local government official) Mr. Hannington
Olebe. The next morning, Mr. Olebe went to report the UPDF attack to the RDC's
office in Kitgum so that steps may be taken to halt further attacks on the
civilian population. As everyone knows in Northern Uganda, one only comes
forward to complain about UPDF atrocities if one does not value ones life. On
14 April 2005, UPDF soldiers from Gang Dyang barracks came and assasinated Mr.
Olebe during the night.
According to members of Mr. Olebe's family, on 14 April 2004 at about 8pm 3
UPDF soldiers came to their home and requested that they be given water to
drink. The water was offered to them. These 3 UPDF soldiers had infact come to
the Olebe homestead to confirm that he was at home so that they could come back
later and kill him. At around midnight, the UPDF did return. The family say
there were knocks on their door with a request for Mr Olebe to come out. As
soon as their father opened the door, the UPDF rained gunfire on him - killing
him instantly with Mr Olebe falling back dead inside the house.
Observers note that, not even Legislators are spared from the UPDF backlash
(see out 14 issue whereby the UPDF tried to kill MP Charles Angiru or in this
issue whereby MPs Okumu and Ocula have been thrown in jail). Others note that
the much touted UN human rights office in Northern Uganda will be all but a
cruel joke unless credible measure are taken to guarantee complainants security
(which with the UPDF in power, is impossible).
And Finally...
In the 14th issue, we reported on how some local leaders (legislators) spoke
out against the atrocities being committed by the UPDF in their constituencies.
Two of those legislators were Reagan Okumu and Nyeko Ocula. As we have often
reported, in Northern Uganda one only speaks out at grave risk to one's life
(the UPDF eliminates/kills those who speak out against its activities). In
April 2005, both legislators were arrested and locked up on false charges that
they had some involvement in a murder case going back 4 years.
Observers contend that the UPDF strategy in this instance (as in the past), is
multi-faceted. Ever since failing to lure the LRA out of bush, the UPDF has
embarked upon setting one group of Northern Uganda people against each other
and within each community setting groups of individuals against the rest. At
the forefront of this strategy is using LRA prisoners of war to accuse those
oppossed to the UPDF violence in Northern Uganda of complicity in the
rebellion. The UPDF aim is simple, to dissuade the local people from backing
peaceful means to solving the conflict and leaving the door open for the UPDF's
preffered twin approaches of militarism and the ICC in the Hague. Observers
conclude that in the coming months, the people of Northern Uganda can only but
expect more arrests and killings as the UPDF tries to get its won way.
Until next time, Jok Joka malo.
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas
"avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
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