Uganda demonstrated its continued commitment to reconciliation on Thursday, as the country welcomed a second batch of former fighters from the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group. These individuals, who had been living in the jungles of the Central African Republic (CAR), were received with open arms by government officials and military personnel.
Led by Robert Kidega, the group of 61 comprised 15 combatants, 14 women, and 32 children.
The group was received by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon Norbert Mao, the Kilak North Member of Parliament and leader of Acholi Parliamentary group, Hon Anthony Akoth, and senior army officers led by Commander air-force Lt Gen Charles Okidi.
This second group follows another in July that was led by Ali Acaye, alias “Doctor”. The initial group comprised 14 and their 14 wives and 33 children.
The LRA is a Ugandan rebel group that waged a 20-year long insurgency, killing tens of thousands of civilians, abducted over 20,000 children as soldiers, porters and sex slaves, and displaced over 1.8 million people in northern Uganda, until it was driven out of the country by the UPDF in 2006 after failed peace talks.
The fighters fled to neighboring South Sudan and then the Democratic Republic of the Congo and CAR.
Its top leader Joseph Kony who is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity remains at large.
In May 2021, one of LRA commanders, Dominic Ongwen, was convicted and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment by the same court over similar charges.
Ongwen was found guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including sexual and gender-based crimes, which took place in northern Uganda between July 2002 and December 2005.