We need a truth and reconciliation commission

It is exactly two years since the attack on the Rwenzururu palace in Kasese happened. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • It is a high time Uganda as a country embraced and respected all the tenets of justice if we are to gain any milestones as far as peace building is concerned.
  • Let us face it, beyond the ‘wrong elements’, people were affected by the episodes of the events in Kasese in which lives were lost on both sides – the security forces and civilians. Widows were left behind, property destroyed, families torn apart, cultural heritage destroyed, among others.

It is exactly two years since the attack on the Rwenzururu palace in Kasese happened. As we try to understand Uganda’s transitional justice and dynamics, I offer a reflection on what that means to our transitional justice landscape in Uganda.

As people in the various places I visited such as Kinyabisiki Village in Kyondo Sub-county, St John Minor Seminary and neighbouring communities, among others in Kasese District are still coming to terms with the suffering inflicted on them following the ADF atrocities, they are reawaken by incidents such as the November 27, 2016 attacks on the Rwenzururu palace by a combined security forces.

This brings to my mind a number of questions. If the raid as explained by the army was to “smoke out the wrong elements” hiding in the palace, with the 130 people arrested and King Charles Mumbere currently facing charges in the courts of law, can we have a truth seeking moment in Rwenzori sub-region? Does reconciliation have a place in Uganda’s conflict-tainted history? When shall the world know what happened in Kasese?

It is a high time Uganda as a country embraced and respected all the tenets of justice if we are to gain any milestones as far as peace building is concerned. Let us face it, beyond the ‘wrong elements’, people were affected by the episodes of the events in Kasese in which lives were lost on both sides – the security forces and civilians. Widows were left behind, property destroyed, families torn apart, cultural heritage destroyed, among others.

Should we say nothing has happened and move on? Don’t a few people really deserve some answers? In the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, lasting and sustainable peace can only be attained through proper accountability.

Therefore, beyond the denials, blame games, accusations, finger pointing, back and forth defections and divisions, we need to rise above the occasion and come up with sustainable solutions that unite the people of Rwenzori and ensure that we bring peace and justice to the region and the country as a whole. We need a truth and reconciliation commission.