Africa-Press – Uganda. A section of residents of Butebo District who claim their cattle were stolen during the 1987 Alice Lakwena-led Holy Spirit Movement rebellion, have requested the government to expedite the compensation process, saying it is long-overdue.
The affected locals said during the insurgency, many of their relatives were killed, properties destroyed and animals stolen mostly by the Karimojong cattle rustlers, who were allegedly following Lakwena rebels.
The press learnt that the government had initially started the compensation process but along the way, it faced hiccups.
It is estimated that the claimants in the district number between 800 and 1000, with a few of them already paid.
Mr Allamanzani Magino, one of the claimants, said the most affected sub-counties during the Lakwena rebellion are Kanginima and Butebo, where numerous houses were allegedly burnt and lives lost.
“We are calling upon the government to expedite the compensation process to all the beneficiaries because it is quite long since 2005 when the exercise of registration and verification of claimants was done,”Mr Magino told last weekend.
He wondered why they have not been compensated yet the Office of the Prime Minister had cleared them.
“Most people who applied were recommended for compensation but we later learnt that we were regarded as ‘minors’, something which does not arise because we suffered equally like our counterparts in Teso,” he said.
Mr Samuel Omunete, a survivor, who lost his two brothers during the insurgency, said he narrowly escaped death on the fateful day the rebels attacked.
“We were attacked by the rebels and my two brothers were killed on the spot. I narrowly survived but during the registration, I was not recognized as genuine claimant,” he said.
Mr Stephen Katende, another victim, said the Lakwena insurgency left the residents of Butebo in total poverty.
“We cannot even afford to educate our children up to university level. We, therefore, ask the government to intervene and compensate the affected families,” Mr Katende, said.
The Kanginima Sub-county coordinator, Mr David Senda, said in 2021, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs came up with green cards that contained data for approval of payments of confirmed claimants.
“It was to our surprise that most of the beneficiaries were not paid yet the team came and verified their actual names,” he said.
He added: “The beneficiaries who missed the compensation had issues with their bank details and their money [cheques] bounced. Others had no data cards and yet their names were appearing with the amount to be paid,” he said.
He explained that they later received a communication from the Ministry of Justice indicating that some of the cards for some beneficiaries were not fully recommended for compensation by the district officials, including the resident district commissioner, district internal security officer and the chief administrative officer.
However, a letter dated July 18, 2023, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, indicated that cheques of more than 70 claimants bounced on June 23 2022, because of various issues with their bank details.
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