Attorney General orders Shs150b pay out to war claimants
The Attorney General, Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- The development comes 10 years since the first court case was opened against government for its alleged negligence in protecting people’s property during the cattle raids in the sub-regions.
The Office of the Attorney General has ordered a Shs150b pay-out to hundreds of war claimants across Teso, Lango and Acholi sub-regions beginning next month.
The development comes 10 years since the first court case was opened against government for its alleged negligence in protecting people’s property during the cattle raids in the sub-regions.
Mr Julius Ochen, the former Kapelebyong County MP, said there was a meeting on Tuesday between the Office of the Attorney General, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, legal representatives for the three sub regions, members from Internal Security Organisation, and MPs where the government showed commitment to have payments done.
Mr Ochen said they received confirmation from the Attorney General that Shs50b was ready for distribution, while Shs100b would come as supplementary.
“There was a general meeting, and closed-door meeting for our lawyers and the Attorney General,” he said.
The Attorney General, Mr Kiryowa Kiwanuka, confirmed the development on Wednesday, saying the government had already sent a team of officials to verify the claimants.
“As soon as the verification is done, which is ending on September 24, payments will be effected onto the personal accounts of the claimants,” he said.
Mr Kiwanuka said each sub-region had been allocated Shs50b.
Mr Richard Anguria Omongole, the lawyer for Teso war claimants, said MPs would have to get the lists of claimants to be verified from Mr Kiwanuka’s office, and there after link up with district internal security officer, local council, and Operation Wealth Creation officials to verify the national IDS of the claimants, and also handle account opening for direct payment to beneficiaries.
He said Ms Among urged the Attorney General to work with MPs to ensure the compensation is successful.
Ms Betty Atengorit, a war claimant from Oditel in Kapelebyong District, appealed to government to keep its promises.
“We have had a number of verifications done which have not yielded fruit, let me hope it does not end like in the past,” she said.
