Gov’t Assurances Committee Gives Hope To War Victims In West Nile

ARUA. The coming of the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances and Implementation to Arua, has given hope of payment to war claimants in the West Nile sub-region.

This is after the war claimants in all the districts of West Nile were at the verge of losing hope of compensation from the government of Uganda.

The aggrieved claimants lost lives, household property, merchandize, buses and animals to different rebel groups including Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), West Nile Bank Front, armed militia from South Sudan and Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) among others.

As a result, the different war claimants have been seeking compensation from the government with others going to court, but all in vain.

However, the coming of the committee members led by Hon. Joyce Bagala Ntwatwa, the Deputy Committee Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances and Implementation, has given hope to the war claimants this time round.

Speaking to the committee members in Arua City on Thursday, August 8, 2024, Alex Matua, the chairperson of the greater Arua Kony war victims’ association, said they have done whatever they could to ensure that the government pays them but to date, nothing has materialized.

“I’m now very happy that this committee has come to meet us physically for the first time and I am hopeful that their coming is going to bear fruits this time round. We have written so many letters to the government demanding for our compensation but all in vain,” Matua said.

“My members who lost lives, merchandise and properties like Lorries along Pakwach-Karuma road in the hands of Kony rebels are 1,102 in total. Majority of them are now old, frustrated and weak. 96 of them have so far died out of frustration without receiving their money from the government. Today, we are very happy that you have come to meet us and please, expedite the process of our payment,” Matua requested.

Matua shocked the committee members when he revealed that of the 1,102 Kony war victims, only one person received shs250m from the government as his compensation because he has a close relative working as an officer in the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).

Santos Eruaga, another war claimant in Madi sub-region, equally said many of the claimants in Moyo, Obongi and Adjumani districts lost animals, lives and property to armed South Sudan soldiers, Kony rebels and to other insurgencies but upto now they have not been compensated.

He prayed to the committee to take their cry seriously so that all the affected war claimants in the West Nile sub-region are compensated without fail.

In her remarks, Hon. Bagala, said as Parliament they are aware that the government and indeed the President made a promise to the people of West Nile, the people of Acholi, the people of Lango and the people of Karamoja to compensate war victims.

“But we have information that the government has not yet compensated the people in the West Nile. So, that is the reason myself and the committee members you see here, are here in West Nile to ensure that we get information from you, all of you who were supposed to be compensated and then take that information back so that the money can be processed for you to be compensated,” Bagala told the war victims.

Bagala observed that they are also aware that some of the war claimants went to court and consequently, there were some judgements passed but she said the President made guidance that whether someone has gone to court or not, they should be compensated.

“So, we are going with documents and we have asked your leaders to give us more information about your names, about your identities, about what you claim, about how much you claim so that – that information can be compiled and taken to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs which the President directed to handle this compensation. We can now promise you that our work is to ensure that all the promises made by the government are fulfilled,” Bagala assured the war victims.

Sam Ondoma of Alaka and Company Advocate, the Lawyer representing the Kony war victims in the greater Arua, expressed gratitude to the Parliamentary Committee members for coming to West Nile to physically interact with the war victims.

He said the issue of Kony war victims in Arua has been long overdue because in 2016, the President came to Arua and promised that these people will be compensated and ever since that time, there has been no compensation received by the victims.

“But we are grateful that at least the committee has come to listen to the plight of these people. We hope that this compensation is going to be effected as soon as possible. My clients are claiming Shs99.7 billion. This might look like a lot of money but compared to what they lost; this is nothing!” Ondoma said