Uganda’s Independence; Not Yet Independence In Northern Uganda

by Valerian Kkonde

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

This is what used to be Tetugu Internally Displaced Persons' Camp

The holding of Uganda’s 53^rd Independence celebrations in Gulu, the de facto capital of the North, seems to have been influenced by the election fever that is already gripping the country, rather than the intention to help the different parts of the country to have a feel of the essence of independence. Presidential, Parliamentary and general elections are slated for February 2016.

The last three decades, of President Yoweri Museveni’s regime, have been the worst in the history of the people of Northern Uganda. The two- decades war between Kony’s the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and government, dehumanised the people to unprecedented levels, almost turning whole generations into animals.

For more than two decades, the populace was confined to what was termed as the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. This is where the destruction of the people’s morals and beautiful culture was effected and perfected.

This war clearly pitted government against the people it is supposed to protect; while president Museveni and his government swore to fight to the last man, the innocent victims of the atrocities by government and the rebels never weathered in their calls for a peaceful end to this brutal war.

People still remember how government soldiers cut their millet and used it to thatch their huts; how people were locked up in their huts and bombed; girls and women were raped, the list goes on and on.

Celebrating independence in a country where your interests are never taken care of or where having a different political ideology amounts to a capital offence can be as hollow as it comes.

The 53^rd so -called independence celebrations come at a time when one of the perpetrators of these horrible crimes, from the rebels’ side, has already been aligned before the Internal Criminal Court in The Hague. Dominic Ongwen was one of the notorious rebel commanders of the LRA who later surrendered to the Peace keepers in the Central African Republic and later handed over to the Uganda government.

People of Northern Uganda were again loud enough in their demand for Ongwen to be subjected to their cultural rituals of cleansing, be reconciled with the victims of his brutality, be pardoned and accepted back in society. Still government would have none of this.

People argue that it is the best way to practice and promote reconciliation and even encourage their children, many of who were forcefully recruited into rebel ranks, to renounce rebellion and return home. The trial and subsequent conviction of Ongwen would be counter productive.

Although people can identify the government soldiers and collaborators who killed, torture, raped their loved ones, and even robbed them of their property none has ever been brought to book. There is no sign that government intends to do so at any one time.

As if that is not bad enough, the money meant for the rehabilitation of the Region, at least 50 billion shillings, was put to personal use! The trial and conviction of Kazinda, who was an accountant in the Prime Minister’s Office, is mockery of justice at best. The Permanent Secretary (PS), who was the accounting officer- Pius Bigirimana-, was transferred to the Ministry of Gender as PS!  

To inflict maximum pain, the government used the tax-payer’s money to refund the stolen money. Rehabilitation of Northern Uganda is being funded by donors. After that grand robbery, the donors retaliated by cutting off aid to Uganda. In his wisdom, the president refunded the money using the Consolidated Fund and let the Bigirimanas share their loot. Double punishment indeed!

Random gun shots and mortar blasts could have fallen silent but peace still eludes Northern Uganda. Government continues to send wrong signals about its commitment to human rights, rule of law and order. Its work to expand the reach of justice is completely invisible on ground.

Government is already creating more havoc and spilling a lot of blood in Agago with its land demarcation program. People are being evicted once again, livelihoods being destroyed once again and others are being displaced for another time.

The riots of the 1950s, as the indigenous Ugandans were agitating for self rule, were characterised by dissatisfaction over the Colonialists’ failure to listen to the people. The Colonialists never thought it prudent to put into consideration the interests of the local people.

The Uganda that is celebrating 53 years of self rule is no different from the Colonialists in that regard. And if there is any part of Uganda that continues to suffer due to government’s failure to listen to those they lead then it is Northern Uganda.

During the National Prayers for Uganda, on October 8, 2015 held at Hotel Africana- Kampala, President Museveni once again attacked the International Criminal Court (ICC) for what he has always termed as “targeting Africa.” Interestingly the President was bitter that “Africa has no voice in the ICC.” How bitter then must the people of Northern Uganda be when they do not have a voice on issues concerning their very existence, in their own motherland!

Government can not claim ignorance of the interests of the people of Northern Uganda as they are always clear on what they want, when they want it and why. It defeats logic for one to refer people to a court you very well “know” is biased. More so when it is not due to lack of options but due to personal selfish interests driven by arrogance.

People will certainly dance, sing and welcome the visitors but this is not to mean that all is well. For people to value independence, they must have a say in the issues that affect them and even be able to meaningfully influence the management of their society at all levels. Given the state of affairs in Uganda, Independence still is a far distant vocabulary that is only comprehended by those in positions of power. But for the common person, more so the people of Northern Uganda it is not yet Independence.