Kony family refuses to reconcile with government

A section of family members participating in removing Kony father’s remains from St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Gulu. PHOTO BY DAVID LIVINGSTONE OKUMU

What you need to know:

Kony’s uncles tell State they did nothing wrong to the citizens.

Gulu

The family of Joseph Kony has rejected a possible move to reconcile with other citizens of Uganda and the government for the atrocities their son allegedly committed in the country.

Mr Saverino Odoki, the head of the Palaro clan, backed by his brothers - Kony’s uncles - Martin Okidi Oluma and Saverino Okello, stood their ground and demanded to know why their family should undergo forceful reconciliation, locally known as mapo-oput.

“We have done our part to allow you exhume the remains of our brother and transport it for reburial according at your own will, today we are not going to be forced. If Ugandans want to reconcile with our family, let them reconcile with Joseph Kony, not us, we are not part of the problem,” Mr Odoki said.

He said the motive of organising the Mato-oput is unclear to the family even though the Puranga clan chairman, Mr Marino Opobo, where Kony’s father belongs, received financial help from the government to organise the event.

“My clan of Palaro and Lamala or Kal shall never participate in mato-oput because there was no war between us, it was government of Uganda and LRA rebels who were engaged in a rebellion, not us,” Mr Odoki said.

Ceremony goes ahead
But Mr Jajayo Bupa, the head of Starky Foundation, an agency alleging that government sent them to monitor the reburial of Kony’s father, said: “We shall not be duped to allow any mockery. We want Kony’s clan and other Puranga clans to perform mato-oput.”
But after a long negotiation, the Lamala and Kal Orimo sub-clans of Puranga agreed to perform the mato-oput ceremony.

Mr Odong Ayaba, a member of Kal-Orimo clan, told the Starky Foundation that there is no need for them to either forgive Kony or reconcile with another clan since the government has forgiven Kony’s family. “The communities of Odek and Puranga have no problem with Kony’s family,” he said.

Mr Ocaya Adebe, the Odek Sub-county chairman where Kony hails, however, gave a go-ahead for the mato-oput ceremony to take place but warned it will never be repeated in the area.

Gulu District Chairman Martin Ojara, the RDC, Mr Chris Owor Odoi, and the army said they were not aware that government sent Starky Foundation to represent it. They said the exercise was a private family function.