Fellow Ugandans,
I will try for the last time to respond to the accusation some people make that I am a spy for Museveni’s government, etc.I will try this time by giving you the history of the origin of this accusation.
I came to the UK in 1989, having previousely been a teacher in Kenya. Late in 1988 when all Ugandan teachers in Kenya were dismissed by the Kenyan government because of political bad blood between Uganda and Kenya, I returned briefly to Gulu, Uganada before coming to the UK were I claimed asylum. The war in the North was then well underway.
In the UK I found there were a number of attempts to set up what at first I thought were welfare organisations for members of my community, the Acholi community. However, usually the procceeddings tended to veer into litany of political grievances about the government we had fled from back home. I noticed too that the meeting tended to be dominated by people who supported some kind of active oppostion to Museveni’s government. When I say “active” oppostion, I am refering to the rethoric of the time which was that “Museveni only knows the language of the gun”.I was not endeared to these meetings for three reasons:
1. Some of the people who were advocating for military action on President Museveni’s government had all their children and family members in the UK and eslewhere in USA, Canada, the Scadinevia etc. They were advocating war but were not risking anything, except other people’s lives. I opposed this whenever I could.
2. Some former members of the deposed UNLA wanted to dictate their views on every body in the UK. They wanted to provide the “Acholi leadership” in the UK, based on their military experience and I rejected that outright. I remember on one occassion for instance during a funeral occassion, when a drunken former UNLA Major ordered that “Kadogo arrest Oruni”, and he had to be reminded that we were now in the UK and he could not do that.
3. Early 1989 words spread that president Museveni was visiting London. Some people went around mobilising the community to go and “throw eggs” at president Museveni. I remember arguing with the anti Museveni’s mobilisers that it was bad strategy to throw eggs at Museveni at that point in time. What we needed was to consolidated our position in our new found land of opportunity and freedom, and do all we could to get as many people as possible to UK. If we threw eggs at president Museveni he might make it impossible for our relatives and family members still remaining in Uganda to leave the country for the UK or elsewhere. Throwing eggs at Museveni could hurt our own cause.
Sometime in mid 1990 I was called by former prime minister Otema Allimadi (RIP) to a meeting in the house of his nephew Walter Atiko. When I arrived I found already in there Mr. Otema Allimadi, Akena Adoko, former justice Oteng (RIP), Walter Atiko and one or two others whom I cannot recall now.
The meeting was very clear in its agenda. Mr. Allimadi was asking me, Akena Adoko and justice Oteng to travel to Uganda to arrange negotiations with president Museveni’s goverment, in order to end the war. I accepted without hesitation, because I saw an opportunity to help end the war through peaceful means.
We soon travelled to Uganda three of us including me, Akena Adoko and Jimmy Mwa Allimadi. In Uganda we met with president Museveni. Our mission was to deliver to the president Mr. Otema Allimadi’s proposal for a negotiated peaceful end to the war, which was by then fast gathering pace throughout Acholi land. We returned to London and reported to Allimadi.
Meanwhile, the reaction to our mission to Uganda was absolutely furious. A meeting was called to discuss our mission. It was held at Marble Arch, London and I went to attend it. I was asked to explain our mission and I did as best as I could but most people were not interested. I was verbally abused and some people even assaulted me physically.
After two weeks we again left the UK for Addis Abbaba,this time together with Mr. Allimadi. We again met with president Museveni in Addis. (OAU heads of states meeting was being held there). After the meeting an agreement was signed by Allimadi for his fighting group of the UPDA and president Museveni for the Uganda Government. The gist of the Addis Abbaba Accord,as it later became known, was to end the war through peaceful negotiations, amnesty, intergration of amnestied fighters, and political, economic, social redress of imbalances affecting Acholiland and the north generally.
We proceeded to Uganda to see the implementation of the agreement on the ground. However, the Accord did not have positive impact on the fighting and it was unable to end or reduce the war.In the event me and Akena Adoko returned to London after about four months in Uganda. Otema Allimadi and Jimmy Mwa Allimadi remained in Uganda.
Reaction of the Acholi community towards me continued to be very violent. Some people wanted me ostricised, but I was very persistent and continued going to community events and dealing with the confrontations. I was accused of ploting to return all Acholi in UK back to Uganda.Sometimes I would be refused entry to community functions such as disco dances etc, but I would normally set up camp outside chatting with the youth who were mostly receptive to me.
Sometime In 1994 I went to attend a meeting of the Acholi Association in Tooting, London. There was the election for new executives of the AA and someone proposed my name out of the blue! The moderator who was one of the elders said that anyone whose name was proposed had to say either “Yes I can, of No I can’t”, without any further explanation for their answer. I decide that I would have to say YES, since I did not want to go on record for having said NO to serving AA without giving reasons as to why. I contested against the incumbent secretary, and I was elected secretary AA. There was some move to collect signatures for a vote of no confidence on me but that needed signatures of two thirds of registered members. The protest soon died down.
With time people’s attitudes generally became more receptive as I was persistent not to drop out of community life. For a long time I was one of the few Acholi who openly admitted to visiting the Uganda High Commission in Trafalgar Sq. A number of people, including one person who assaulted me previousely came to my house with thier passports and I would help them renew them.
In June 1995 I and a group of people set up a chartable organisation. By 1996 the organisation was attracting funding and jealousy. One night my car was stolen and torched in a nearby street. The following day a letter started circulating purportedly written by the president’s office in Uganda asking for monthly intelligence report and names of people’s gathered through my organisations service users, etc. The letter was posted to nearly every funder in the UK. I had a good guess of the people behind the letter to be one Oryang, Matsanga, and Opendi.(For legal reasons I cannot say thier first names). The letter was also apparently circulated in Uganda.
With the exception of Oryang nobody else in the Acholi community had anything to do with the letter. However, the damage was done all the same. Some people believed the content of the letter while many other realised that the letter was a forgery.
I think my close association with so many Baganda, Banyakole, Bagisu etc, at a time when many in the Acholi community in UK felt that they were under siege made some Acholi nervous. For instance, I took a Munyangkole lady friend to attend the Kacokke Madit at a time when non Acholi were not supposed to attend KM, and people were so nervous of this woman. Some people said “What more proof do you need, the man is a Museveni spy, how can a Munyangkole attend KM”? Some poople wanted the lady removed from the KM. I was also the first Acholi to be elected to the board of the largely Baganda dominated Uganda Community Relief Association (UCRA).
What I have learnt from all these episode is that in some respects ACHOLI IS STILL A TRIBAL COMMUNITY in which one has to live by the fears and hopes of the community. Dissent may not be expected or tolerated. (This last paragraph alone will get me crucified)!
Pilipo Oruni Oloya
Comments
I BELIEVE THE ACHOLI COMMUNITY IS NOT RUN BY ONE EYE, SO IT COULD BE TRUE AS YOUR COLLEAGUE IS OKELLO OREM IS DOING TO HURT THE INOCENT ACHOIL’S.
I BELIEVE THE ACHOLI COMMUNITY IS NOT RUN BY ONE EYE, SO IT COULD BE TRUE AS YOUR COLLEAGUE OKELLO OREM IS DOING TO HURT THE INOCENT ACHOIL’S.
You only narrated how the Acholi Community- both in the diaspora and at home have been witch hunting you all these years. You also narrated how you started struggling in 1990 to end the Northern war peacefully.
However, you don’t explain why you think the war went on up now yet you seems to know the nitty gritty of the war. Did you try to ask yourself why almost 7 years after your purported peaceful struggle people were herded into IDPs.
Apart from enjoying UK life, you even don’t tell us how you helped suffering people back home. Did you ever stepped in northern Uganda to see the IDPs?
Did you ever asked yourself why with all these sufferings, Northern Uganda was never declared a disaster zone which needed emergency handling.
JUST SHUT UP.
WE ARE TRYING TO COLLECT OURSELVES UP FROM THE DEBRIS. YOU ARE THE “RWOT I NEKA”. DON’T REMIND US OF WHAT WE ARE LEAVING.
oruni stop lieing you even have an esso number so why lie, idot as you are , remember kacoke ma dit what you said there, stop lieing foolish boy!
we have ur esso number, contact name etc say what then?dont fool us idot oruni jal wek tuku ba! mac tye.
Fckuing Acholi!
LOK PA ACHOLI DWONG MADA OMERA.PE IWEK OYEL WII, PIN OLOYO KI WOKO.KONY ACHOLI KI TAM MA BECO IYOO DUCU MA ITWERO. IN DUCU ACHOLI CALO MANORITY MA KITYE KA YELO WII NI
Strange that there are tensions out there when we are supposed to be united..remember people as we bicker the others are getting their children educated we are marginalized, true, but what are our efforts other than whining? lets do to help our selves and unit also to forgive…maybe as a 21yr old i dont knw wats going on…..true…but i think we shld move on….
Its the first time I’m reading and hearing of this but your story/explanation has many loop holes. You jump from one thing to another leaving the reader kinda clue less of what your trying mean.
Based on that (and comments from those who seem to know you), I have to agree with them. I don’t buy your story, sorry.
PS: I’m not Acholi but a staunch UPC supporter.
WHERE ARE THOSE HE “HELPED” DELIVER BACK HOME?