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Teso war claimants petition Among over compensation
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Anita Among. It is alleged that the Attorney General’s office has since developed a list, where 33,664 claimants, who were not part of the court process, are seeking compensation. PHOTO | COURTESY | FILE
What you need to know:
- Background. After National Resistance Army rebels led by Mr Museveni came into power in 1986, several rebel groups sprouted in Acholi, Lango and Teso sub-regions. Specifically in Teso, was the Uganda People’s Army coordinated by the former state minister for Defence under Obote II government, Peter Otai. While fighting these groups, the NRA committed human rights violations between 1987 and 1992, including the Mukura massacre when hundreds of people were burnt in train wagons while the Karimojong rustlers exploited the situation to sow mayhem in Teso.
Teso war claimants have petitioned the deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, challenging the Attorney General (AG)’s list in regard to their compensation from government.
The claimants include families that lost their loved ones and property during the war in Teso Sub-region between 1986 and 2003.
In a September 22 petition that was delivered through their lawyers of Omongole and Company Advocates, the claimants say the list has been altered. They have asked Ms Among to take immediate action against officials responsible for the falsification.
It is alleged that the AG’s office has since developed a list, where 33,664 claimants, who were not part of the court process, are seeking compensation.
In the petition, the lawyers allege that they were dismayed to learn that the list is different from the one sent by M/s Omongole and Company Advocates.
“Recognise and include the already verified persons by the Ministry of Defence that were sent to the AG’s chambers for payment under the Imodot and Oluka cases in the first list of claimants to be paid,” the petition reads.
“The people listed are total strangers who were not on the list to be verified as ordered by court and are not known to us. We do not know how the AG has come up with a completely different list ...,” the petition reads further.
After the hearing of the complaints by war claimants, the High Court in 2015 ordered joint verification. But the lawyers claim they were never called for a joint verification by the AG.
Earlier on, the lawyers representing the Acholi and Lango sub-regions war claimants accused the AG’s office of defying court orders, which directed that government should verify the claims jointly with representatives of the claimants.
The lawyers said government was treating the compensation process as a mere programme which amounts to usurping court power.
Mr Makmot Kibwanga, one of the lawyers representing claimants in Acholi and Lango, alleged that there are some government officials, who are abusing the court process.
When contacted on Sunday, the deputy Attorney General, Mr Jackson Kafuuzi, declined to comment on the matter.
