On Wednesday June 23, the
sad news of the passing of Acidri Stephen shocked the Transitional Justice practitioners’
arena in Uganda. Acidri was famous in the Transitional Justice circle for his
courageous leadership and constant advocacy for reparations for victims of conflict
in Uganda. At the time of his passing he was the coordinator of Ombacci
Massacre Association in Arua for whom he profoundly spoke. People who knew
Acidri, may recall that he often emphasized the urgency of reparations for
victims. He hardly left a gathering or did an interview without saying, “… victims
are dying off without realizing reparations...” it may well, have been a
prophesy of what would later unfold on himself.
Acidri’s passing adds to the
trend of deaths of conflict victims in Uganda. On March 4 2019, a prominent and
vocal victims representative known as Hajji Sebbi Longa also passed on after a short illness. Sebbi had earned the nickname ‘Ocampo
of West Nile’ due to his work with conflict survivors in Uganda, an undertaking
that he passionately carried out. The nickname was in reference to the former
prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Moreno Ocampo who coincidentally
had a scraggly beard just like Longa.
Both Longa
and Acidri will be remembered for their contribution in advancing the cause for
conflict-affected victims in Uganda.
In an article published in 2015
Acidri was quoted saying, “We hope that finally something can be done to
address these issues.” About four years later in an article published
by Daily Monitor on May
30, 2019 Acidri expressed his disappointment when he said, “We have been struggling to get justice because it is
disheartening. We need the leaders to take responsibility and compensate those
who lost loved ones and property.” Hajji Sebbi Longa had earlier said the same thing, “We are tired of asking for the same thing with
no feedback.”
A
brief background about the Omabacci Massacre whose victims Acidri led: About 100
people were allegedly killed on June 24, 1981,
survivors say, in revenge for what Idi Amin’s Uganda Army had done in other
parts of northern Uganda after the coup against president Milton Obote in 1971.
Amin, many senior officers in his army and lower rank soldiers, hailed from
West Nile where Arua is located. At least 89 victims, who were buried in a mass
grave near St Joseph’s College Ombaci, were identified.
The continued deaths of
victims in Uganda further reiterates the urgency with which the government should
fast track reparations for all victims of conflicts. Continued delay will only
lead to piling of frustration and anger among victims, a situation which is a
threat to peace.
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This article was written by:
Nobert Dacan who
is a peacebuilding practitioner and social researcher in Uganda and Ogora Lino
Owor, the founder of Foundation for Justice and Development Initiatives.
Foundation for Justice
and Development Initiatives (FJDI) works with
children, youths, women and communities to promote justice, development and
economic recovery in northern Uganda. FJDI has been working on providing
redress for conflict affected persons and communities and promoting
Transitional Justice measures since 2015.
