Regional - East African - Nairobi - Kenya
Monday, October 6, 2003
Amnesty: Lakwena Turns Down M-7's Offer
President Museveeni has often stated that he was forced by public opinion to assent to the amnesty statute
By DAVID MUSOKE
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
UGANDA'S LEGENDARY rebel leader Alice Lakwena and 300 of her former fighters, who have been living in exile in neighbouring Kenya for the past 10 years, have turned down President Yoweri Museveni's amnesty offer.
Uganda Amnesty Commission (UAC) officials told The EastAfrican last week that the self-styled priestess and her fighters had refused to take up the amnesty.
UAC principal public relations officer Moses Draku said that the commission had received reports that one of Lakwena's former intelligence officers had been "harassed" by some of Lakwena's ex-fighters when they learnt that he wanted to take advantage of the amnesty to return home.
There were also reports that delays by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kenya had discouraged the Uganda ex-combatants in self-exile in Kenya from returning, including Lakwena and her fighters.
"The exercise of returning ex-combatants from Kenya under the amnesty was delayed by a year due to lack of funds," the official explained.
"However, when the commission obtained the necessary funding for the repatriation of the ex-combatants, the numbers expected had dropped drastically."
The commission screened up to 230 ex-combatants who qualified under the amnesty Act 2000, out of whom 212 have been returned to their homes.
"We found that 588 applicants were economic migrants in Kenya and therefore did not qualify for the amnesty," said the commission staff.
The questionnaire given to would-be beneficiaries of the amnesty was so thorough that it was easy to tell pretenders from genuine ex-combatants, he said.
The decision by the commission's officials on whether an applicant is a genuine ex-combatant or not is final and there is no provision for appeal.
The amnesty statute grants pardons to those combatants and their collaborators who renounce their rebellion against President Yoweri Museveni's government.
The offer covers the period from January 26, 1986, when Museveni assumed power, up to the present.
Those who renounce rebellion are required to report to any Ugandan High Commission, embassy, police or army station or any recognised state agent.
About 10,000 ex-combatants have returned to Uganda, mainly from Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya, since the enactment of the law three years ago. Most of these are former fighters of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which is headed by Joseph Kony, a cousin of Lakwena's.
The amnesty statute is renewed every six months and currently runs up to January 17, 2004.
"Those combatants who have been arrested and are in custody can also apply for amnesty," the official said.
Mr Draku said that the commission had urged the government to consider amending the statute in order to widen its scope. "There are hundreds of ex-combatants who have been waging war against the government of Uganda before Museveni's regime assumed power and who would like to qualify for the amnesty, but they are locked out by the law," he said.
After fighting the rebel LRA for the past 17 years, President Museveni said two weeks ago that he would not renew the amnesty for the rebel commanders whose troops have been committing atrocities.
The Ugandan leader, who has been reluctant to hold peace talks with the LRA leadership, has on several occasions openly stated that he was forced by public opinion to assent to the amnesty statute.
Mr Draku said that, despite the commission suffering from a shortage of funds, it was doing everything possible to publicise the amnesty and encourage combatants to renounce their rebellion against the government.
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