War victims want Shs2 trillion pay

More than 1,115 families who lost their beloved ones and property when Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels attacked Barlonyo camp in Lira District in 2004 are demanding Shs2 trillion in compensation from government.

In their August 25 letter which this newspaper has seen, the aggrieved families through their lawyer have written to the Attorney General, Mr Peter Nyombi, threatening to take legal action against government if they are not compensated as soon as possible.

They claim in November 2003, during the climax of the LRA insurgency, government ordered them to vacate their ancestral homes and go to Barlonyo after it assured them of better security.
But they claim forces presumed to be LRA attacked them on February 21, 2004, leaving 302 people dead.

“Take notice that Moses Ogwal, …and 1,115 others of Lira District against the Attorney General of Uganda … for the loss of property and lives of their relatives as a result of the government’s omission to provide them security,” the letter reads in part.
“The government of Uganda provided a battalion of UPDF and home guards who protected Barlonyo camp from November 2003 to February 19, 2004 when government withdrew all the defence forces that were protecting Barlonyo camp,” the letter adds.

The group states that President Museveni visited the massacre area and blamed the army for their failure to protect them.
He promised an investigation to establish what happened that fateful night but no report has been released to that effect.
Efforts to reach Mr Nyombi were futile as his known mobile phone was switched off at press time. However, his office under the Civil Litigation department acknowledged receipt of the letter.

The Monitor

UM– USEKE.RW