Twenty-two years after the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) swept into Obalanga and surrounding communities in Teso, survivors continue to live with painful memories of killings, abductions, displacement and what they describe as unfulfilled government promises. During the annual commemoration at the Obalanga memorial site, survivors, former local leaders, returnees and community representatives recounted the events of 15th June 2003, when rebels under Joseph Kony attacked the area leaving hundreds dead and thousands displaced.
Many survivors say while peace returned long ago, the scars of the insurgency remain visible in families that lost loved ones, children who never returned from captivity and communities that still await compensation, rehabilitation and development support.
Olinga John Patrick, 59, who was the LC1 chairperson of Obalanga Trading Centre at the time of the attack, recalled receiving intelligence that the rebels were advancing towards Teso. “On the night of June 14th, we already knew the rebels were coming because information had reached us that Kony was targeting Obalanga,” he said. According to Olinga, panic spread across the trading centre as residents fled to nearby villages while others remained behind.
“In the middle of the night, we heard gunshots. I had taken refuge about two to three kilometres away. When we returned in the morning, the trading centre had been burnt down completely,” he said. “My house was burnt. Many homes and businesses were reduced to ashes. People fled in fear.” He said although no civilian was killed at the trading centre, several residents were abducted while one government soldier was killed as security forces attempted to repel the rebels.
As thousands fled to Soroti and other safer areas, Obalanga later became a major camp hosting between 36,000 and 40,000 internally displaced people from surrounding sub-counties. “We survived through community organisation and determination,” he said. Olinga said community leaders later decided to gather remains recovered from different locations and bury them in a common memorial site.
The initiative was spearheaded by former Amuria district chairman and later Kapelebyong MP Julius Ocen, the late Tom Okello and development partners including Concern Worldwide. “People had been killed in different places. We wanted future generations to know what happened here,” he said. Concern Worldwide reportedly supported the burial exercise by providing materials, including cement and burial supplies. The memorial site today stands as one of the most visible reminders of the LRA atrocities in Teso.
Olinga also recalled a visit by President Museveni to Obalanga shortly after the insurgency. According to him, local leaders used the occasion to appeal for government support and memorial projects. “The President promised us a comprehensive secondary school and a technical institution in memory of those who died,” he said. While a secondary school was eventually established, residents argue that the broader promise remains incomplete.
“When we pass by the technical institute that was later established elsewhere, we feel disappointed because we remember the promise made to Obalanga,” he said. He appealed to government to revisit the pledge and also support development of the memorial site into a modern heritage and tourism centre. For Elotu Sam, the memories remain deeply personal. He was a Senior Two student when he received warnings that rebels were approaching Obalanga.
“People told me not to return home because Kony was arriving that day. They described the rebels as people who looked more like animals than human beings,” he said. His family fled first to Amuria and later to Soroti where thousands of displaced people sought refuge.
“There was hunger, disease and poor sanitation. People had left everything behind,” he said. His younger brother, then aged about 11, was abducted during the conflict and has never been found. “Up to today, he has not returned. The trauma remains with us,” Elotu said. He believes many victims remain unaccounted for because numerous bodies were never recovered from the bush. “Some people died in places where no one could reach them. Their remains were never brought here.”
Ayoko Joyce Mary, the councillor representing older persons in Obalanga Town Council said women and children suffered immensely during displacement. Although she was living in Soroti at the time, she witnessed the suffering of displaced families arriving from Teso. “People lacked food, blankets and shelter. Women walked long distances carrying children. Some lost their children to disease after escaping the violence,” she said.
She recalled children dying from illnesses in displacement camps and families returning home with nothing. “When people came back, they found hunger waiting for them. Some died trying to rebuild their lives,” she said.
Ayoko appealed for recognition of the Arrow Boys, the local military groups that helped defend communities from rebel attacks. “They were our saviours. Without them, perhaps we would not be here today,” she said.
Okanya Robert, the first GISO of Alito Sub-county, narrowly escaped abduction after rebels raided his home. “They tied me with a rope and forced me to carry beans they had looted,” he recalled. His life was saved when an Arrow Boy opened fire on the rebels, allowing captives to escape. However, his son was abducted and has never returned.
“My daughter escaped and is now working in the Prisons Service but my son disappeared. We still do not know where he is,” he said. Like many families in Teso, Okanya’s family continues to live with unanswered questions about relatives who vanished during the insurgency.
David Esangu said he was studying at Moroto High School when news of the attack reached him. He returned home to evacuate younger siblings and later lost two brothers-in-law who were killed while trying to access food in their villages. Years later, he joined community efforts to recover remains scattered across the countryside. “We participated in collecting and burying the remains of our relatives,” he said.
Esangu said survivors have waited years for compensation and government support that has yet to materialise. “There have been many promises, but little has reached the victims,” he said.
Among the most emotional testimonies came from Opio James who was abducted as a young boy. He said rebels captured him together with two friends and moved them through Teso before taking them for military training. “I was in the group commanded by Dominic Ongwen,” he said.
Opio described years of forced movement through Uganda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and the Central African Republic. “There was hunger, thirst and death everywhere. People died like chickens,” he said. He recounted being flogged 120 times for refusing certain tasks and witnessing executions of escapees.
Eventually, he escaped with another captive and spent months walking through forests before surrendering to soldiers. “When I came back home, I thought life would improve. Instead, there was no support, no accommodation and no assistance,” he said. “I ask government to forgive and support us because we were abducted as children.”
Edolu Mark, Arrow Boy number 0019, said local defence groups played a crucial role in driving rebels out of Teso. “We were young, but we fought because our people were suffering,” he said. He recalled poor pay, inadequate equipment and difficult conditions. “Sometimes we received ugx60,000 a month and even that did not come regularly,” he said.
According to him, many former Arrow Boys remain wounded, impoverished and unsupported. “We sacrificed a lot, but the promises made to us have never been fulfilled,” he said. Several survivors described Joseph Kony in deeply emotional terms.
Former LC1 chairman Ocaro Peter said many residents struggle to understand the brutality inflicted on civilians. “How do you cut someone into pieces? It is difficult to comprehend,” he said.
Ikono Mary, whose son was abducted and later returned after 11 years in captivity, said she personally encountered Kony. “He did not look human to me. He looked like an animal,” she said. She recalled watching helplessly as rebels took away her son while she was unable to escape because of a disability.
Kapelebyong County MP Francis Akorikin said the memorial site remains a painful reminder of one of the darkest chapters in Teso’s history. “More than 300 people who were killed are remembered here. This site symbolises both pain and resilience,” he said.
Akorikin said communities continue to demand justice, compensation and implementation of a comprehensive transitional justice framework. He pledged to raise the matter in Parliament and push for programmes supporting victims, returnees and families of the missing. The legislator also revealed plans to work with local stakeholders to develop the memorial site into a major heritage tourism destination.
“Government has already gazetted this area as a tourism site, but it still lacks infrastructure,” he said. “We must transform this place from a site of pain into a site of hope.”
Despite the passage of more than two decades, survivors say their greatest concern is not only remembering the dead but ensuring that those who lived through the conflict are not forgotten. Many families remain without answers about missing relatives. Former abductees continue to struggle with reintegration while communities affected by the insurgency say promised support has largely failed to materialise.
As mourners gathered around the mass graves this year, one message resonated across testimonies, peace may have returned to Teso, but many survivors believe justice, recognition and recovery remain unfinished. “We were left with graves and promises,” one survivor remarked. “What we want now is for those promises to become reality.”-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
