38 years later, Ombaci victims yet to get justice

Remembrance. Gulu Archbishop John Baptist Odama blesses one of the graves at Ombaci Mass grave during prayers in 2016. PHOTO BY FELIX WAROM OKELLO

What you need to know:

  • About 100 people were killed on June 24, 1981, survivors say, in revenge for what Idi Amin’s Uganda Army had done in other parts of northern Uganda after the coup against president Milton Obote in 1971.

Arua. About 400 survivors of the Ombaci massacre in Arua District are still seeking justice 38 years after the deadly incident.
Soldiers of the Uganda National Liberation Army massacred people who had taken refuge at the residence of the Verona Fathers in Ombaci on June 24, 1981 after the overthrow of Idi Amin.

“We have been struggling to get justice because it is disheartening that even those who sought refuge at Ombaci mission and the College were massacred mercilessly. We need the leaders to take responsibility and compensate those who lost loved ones and property,” Mr Stephen Acidri, the coordinator of the survivors, said on Monday.

The Refugee Law Project (RLP) has been organising the war survivors into groups and documenting the atrocities to make a case for them before government.
Mr Jackson Odong, who works with RLP, said they documented cases where women were raped, maimed and property taken away from them.
“Many of them lost their marriages and have suffered trauma. But these people need some form of reparation so that their hope can be restored. Even those children who lost their parents still need care,” Mr Odong said.

Response
Responding to the concerns, the Ms Alice Akello, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner, asked the victims to write a joint petition to government.
“But the leaders should not inflate the number of the survivors and those who died. We need transparency and government may not be able to provide to each household, but they can push for agenda as a group,” Ms Akello said.

Background
About 100 people were killed on June 24, 1981, survivors say, in revenge for what Idi Amin’s Uganda Army had done in other parts of northern Uganda after the coup against president Milton Obote in 1971. Amin, many senior officers in his army and lower rank soldiers, hailed from West Nile where Arua is located. At least 89 victims, who were buried in a mass grave near St Joseph’s College Ombaci, were identified.