7,000 West Nile War Victims Await Compensation as Leaders Urge Museveni to Honour His Pledge

Leaders representing victims of past insurgencies in West Nile have renewed calls on President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to fulfill his commitment to compensate people who lost lives and property during the wars that ravaged the region.

The call comes months after President Museveni pledged in January to address the issue while meeting district leaders and elders from West Nile at Muni University.

The leaders also point to a letter from State House dated October 27, 2025, addressed to the Prime Minister directing that compensation be effected. However, they say no payments have been made to the victims to date.

The leaders made the call on Thursday, September 10, 2026, during a meeting of the newly formed West Nile Compensation Advocacy Network (WE-CAN), in Arua City.

They say West Nile suffered some of the worst effects of the insurgencies, with thousands of people losing family members, homes, livestock and other property.

Richard Andama, the Executive Director of WE-CAN, says the President already made his position on compensation clear, and the government should act on the commitment.

“Indeed, we suffered, and indeed, the President pronounced himself on this. It’s not politics now. It’s about compensating the people of West Nile.” Andama said.

“We are seeing five cows per household in Teso, Acholi, and Lango sub regions, and in the Bunyoro belt, people are being given land titles by the government. So these are good initiatives, additional to the PDM program we are talking about.” He noted.

“West Nile deserves this, as voters, as taxpayers, as people who have to support this government.”

Ben Yuma, the victims’ team leader for Terego District, says many people in West Nile lost virtually everything during the LRA insurgency and deserve to be compensated.

“People of West Nile lost everything. Others were killed. Others were tortured. Others lost their property when the LRA war, the current Museveni government took over power.” He said.

“The war also affected the people of West Nile. Everybody went to Sudan. Others went to Congo, where they lost everything. Now we have been left out for the issues of compensation, regional compensation. In other regions, people are already being compensated. We want the people of West Nile to come together and identify because there were very many people who suffered.”

Meanwhile, Jane Aliru, the team leader for Arua Central Division, is appealing directly to President Museveni and other stakeholders to listen to the victims and honour the pledge.

“Is it because there are no good stakeholders?” Aliru questioned.

“But today WE-CAN office has come. We pray we have come out. Dear President, hear our cry, MK Muhoozi and Salim Saleh, hear us.” She pleaded.

“When peace agreement was being signed, I was there. I witnessed what happened to us. I call upon all the stakeholders to come together.”

Oyemi Antesa Sedri, a representative from Madi Okollo District, says the compensation should cover the wide range of property lost during the insurgencies.

“We’re not talking about cows only. People lost a lot of things. You may find in Pakwach, the losses may be with the canoes and other activities, and then you find the belt of Madi Okollo, it would be cows, destruction of homes, and many of these things.” Sedri explained.

He says the peace agreement signed by the region and the government was significant and should be followed by meaningful efforts to address the losses suffered by the victims.

“We have this region peculiar because you find we are bordered by South Sudan and DR Congo. The peace agreement that was signed during the time of Bamuze is exceptional. No district in Uganda has done that.” He said.

According to WE-CAN, at least 7,000 victims have been documented as eligible for government compensation.