By KT Reporter
Leaders in Acholi have been urged to begin registering former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) returnees for National Identification Cards. The call follows the cleansing ceremony held last week in Gulu City, where a section of former LRA abductees underwent traditional rituals symbolizing forgiveness and reconciliation in Acholi.
Over the years, thousands of former LRA abductees have been gradually returning since the rebel group was weakened and chased from Uganda. However, since Uganda started moving towards expanding digital services and updating its national ID system, the former LRA abductees have struggled to get national IDs because of the scant details about their origins.
Uganda requires that any person who qualifies to get a national ID must produce a medical birth certificate, proof that they are a Ugandan by birth, a residential address, and information about their biological parents. The children in this category do not have medical records since they were not born at medical facilities, and do not know their fathers’ lineage, because they were born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.
Alice Akello, the commissioner in charge of RDCs in northern Uganda, challenged the cultural chiefs to trace the origin of the children born of war for them to be registered for national IDs. “The returnees belong somewhere. They have a clan and a chief that should not be lost,” Akello said.
Akello stressed that tracing the origin of the returnees will also help them know who among the fellow returnees are their relatives and possibly prevent incestuous relationships, which is abominable and punishable by banishment in Acholi. “It is your role to trace the origin of the returnees so that the children do not start marrying among themselves,” Akello said.
Kamba Amir, the deputy Resident City Commissioner of Bardege Layibi division in Gulu City, said as soon as the returnees are reintegrated into their communities, the leaders should start the process of tracing their origin so that they get national IDs.
Amir said the national identification will help them benefit from ongoing government programs such as the Parish Development Model program and emyooga, among others.
Stella Lanam, the Director of War and Children Networking (WVCN), revealed that in 2024, the WVCN partnered with NIRA to support children born of war to get national IDs. Still, the challenge is that the majority of them don’t know the origin of their father.
“Several men in the bush didn’t disclose their real name to the women they had relationships with. Most of them were known by their nicknames, the village or district they came from,” Lanam said.
Lanam said since the partnership in 2024, only 50 out of the 2,000 children in their database have got national IDs, while the others could not because of lack of details about their fathers.
She suggested that the government should explore innovative and inclusive ways of allowing the returnees who don’t know the origin of their fathers, to register using the names of their uncles.
“We have talked to them [NIRA] and asked that they should create a field in the registration form where such children use their uncle’s name, instead of their father’s name.”
“Like for me I wrote the name of my uncle to register for a national ID, because they wanted a national ID, for me to sit for the national exams,” Lanam revealed.
In Uganda, a National ID is a requirement for opening Bank accounts, registering SIM cards, obtaining travel documents, voting, and registering for the National Social Security Fund (NSSF for those seeking formal employment.
For decades, the LRA conflict tore through northern Uganda, displacing over a million people and abducting tens of thousands. The war may be over, but the scars and the bureaucracy remain.
Okot James, 38, was born in South Sudan, and his father was killed five years later. After escaping from South Sudan and returning to Uganda with his mother in 2012. He lived under the radar, at his mother’s home in Koro, Omoro district.
“I had no name on paper. I couldn’t get the land in my name. I couldn’t even get my child a birth certificate,” Okot said. Now, with a plastic card in hand bearing his photo and full name, Okot said he felt real, something he had not felt in years.
“I’m a Ugandan again,” he added.
For many returnees in northern Uganda, a national ID is more than a technical fix. It is part of healing and recovery from decades of trauma. And for the former abductees, it’s a bridge back to society and a chance to reclaim a name and a future. “This is more than a card. It is proof that I exist and belong,” Okot said-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
