Mr. Okot James,
a clan leader and peace mediator, began his testimony with a narration of a story
of when in 1972, he had to fly to Sudan from the conflict that affected Uganda and
kept him away until 1979. Okot told court that when he returned he became a
farmer but, as a result of the LRA conflict, he lost his cattle, goats and
crops which has made life very miserable for him in his small village in Pabbo.
Okot narrated
how he was abducted by the Uganda People’s Democratic Army (UPDA), taken to the
bush and tortured. “In exchange for my return, I was asked to coordinate a group
which I tried very hard to reconcile with the government…unfortunately, people
had other intentions than peace making my efforts to fail” said Okot.
In 1989, Mr. Okot
said he was imprisoned by the Ugandan government in a military barracks and
them moved to a civilian prison for a total of four months. The conditions were
horrible in both situations, Mr. Okot recalled: “when you’re a prisoner you are
beaten, mistreated, you don’t have rights nor voice. You have to obey to
protect your own life.” Okot said.
In the barracks he was subjected to force
labour. He uprooted grass and carried big amounts of corn on his shoulders.
After four months he was released because they had no evidence to proof his
guilt.
After narrating
what he went through while in detention, the defence counsel asked for clarity
about his current job. Mr. Okot explained that he is a mediator of inter-clan
disputes. In addition, the Defense inquired on the role of different types of
spirits making part of the Acholi tradition. For instance, Gemo, which Okot
said is an evil spirit associated with diseases like measles and death.
When asked about the link between Joseph Kony and
spirits, the witness said that he can’t tell which kind of spirit possesses
Kony. However, Okot mentioned that just like Hitler who died and was never
found, Kony could equally disappear and hide as if he is possessed by spirits
that inform him of what is about to happen.
The trial will
resume in two weeks.
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