MUNI MASSACRE REPORT
Author: Okot Komakech Deo
Research and Documentation Officer
Location: 1980 10 15 Ewuata, Vura s/c
Perpetrator were militia.
The private land owner and caretaker of the monument display tablets with names of those killed
Introduction
West Nile like the rest of Uganda experienced significant historical conflicts that built up to one of Uganda’s greatest history of violence, suffering, poverty and persistent grieve. In its current state of a relative peaceful, it’s constantly being reminded by the scare of bloodshed and unaddressed legacies of the violence. Muni village in Arua town west of Uganda was a place terrorized by the then soldiers of UNLA (Uganda National Liberation Army) on 15th October 1980 killing several unarmed civilian who where living in Muni. On the fateful day about 11 people were arrested and led towards a catholic mission. Shooting started when one of those abducted identified by his profession as a teacher cut himself loose and ran away. Instantly those that remained where forced to the ground and shot in cold blood while a little boy and a girl left standing to witness the brutality.
Life became increasingly difficult and oppressive for Muni residents. Most of who ran to exile in Congo. As a reminder to the incident, a monumental mass grave was constructed on a private facility at location of the murder. Yearly family members and Christian communities of St. Andrew & Nicholas, Cou Lulucaku village Muni parish come together to commemorate and remind themselves of the painful past. The attacks and looting of private properties disrupted social, economic activities in the area forcing culminating into mass displacement to secure area across the borders between Uganda and congo as refugees. It took them the entire UNLA regime change to slowly return back to Uganda. Many perished in exile while a handful return to reconstruct their lives.
Motives for the killing
According to community members, atrocities committed by government forces of the UNLA date shortly in 1979, when the UNLA Government under the leadership of President Milton Obote 11 came to power after ousting Amin. Among West Nile local population, the killings and suffering has been alleged resultant to direct thirst for accumulated vengeance by Northern tribes as the UNLA overthrew a government widely perceived as a regime of Lubgwara led by their son Amin. Amin’s leadership however is widely perceived a dictatorial by nature under which thousands of Ugandans where killed. Amin’s targeted tribal execution especially to those directed at Acholi and Langi who then dominated the UNLA has a direct link to this massacres and wide spread violence in west Nile at the time.
Stone quarry- an economic activity around the mass grave site.
The massacre survivor account one:
William Daniel Ongala, when this thing started happening we were home here at night closing into early morning. I ran into the bush where we stayed for long and when I returned a bishop whom I don’t know the name had collected the people already killed waiting for burial. The grave was already dag ready for burial in the bushes. The Bishop asked me whether I was the owner of this home and I said yes. Then I suggested burring the people here in my compound. The burial was done and we stay here only for three days and people advised I leave the place immediately. I refused and told them, “I am not leaving”. Shortly soldiers returned one night and looted everything including our iron sheet on the roof. I was forced to run for safety in the bush till when they left was when I got back home. We then reconstructed a grass thatch huts for a house and as well care for the burial sites never to get busy to date. The relatives for those are coming to me that they want to build a big house on top of the grave but I said “no I only gave the small piece of land for grave”. Those people killed were living in muni they included the Head teachers, local leaders, religious leaders and many others. and these what am holding are their names as you can see.
Sign post of St. Andrew & Nicholas church next to the monument
The massacre survivor account one;
Angole Godfrey, a Parish Chief of Nyo parish in Muni and it happened that during the 1980, early morning when the Ugandan UNLA in combination with Tanzanian soldiers stopped here and started chasing us. They were very angry and started killing people from Ringili Village (Ringili Massacre) up to here. That time teachers and student were converged. It was election campaign period. People were cooking, eating and enjoying themselves before the tragic attack. People had gathered into a church leader’s home and ready to take their meal. Eventually news reached that soldiers were approaching. People were running and shooting all over the place, The church leader actually wanted people at the gathering to escape… so there was this MP (Member of Parliament) whose campaign agent was the Head Teacher stopped the people not to run away because he was a MP and a member of the ruling party by then the UPC (Uganda People’s Congress). so they remain home and then soldiers, came surrounded them and grab every body. The arrested were immediately being led away from Muni to army detached of the UNLA. Shortly before they could reach, one teacher decided ran away for his life. the soldiers in a quick respond to the escape force laid every body to the ground and shot them all sparing only a young boy and girl to go back home as witnesses to what happened. Later on the family members gathered and build this monument to remember what happened to their dear ones. That’s all!!…
Emerging issues
The families have for years longed for compensation for the loved one that was killed by the very soldiers that was to protect them. It’s evident that mostly during memorial prayers that survivors use the platform to share there though and call for compensation. Keen knowledge of the role of the state to protect the civilian is the driving force onto appeal to the current government to repair the damages committed during the regime of Obote in 1979. It’s believed that regime changes have no link to its duty to address or no address historical human rights violations and injustices. On that note, the affected community members are pressuring local leaders to ensure that victim’s are compensated.
Locating a mass grave in a private land has hindered victim’s family member from expanding the memorial into a more attractive and meaningful site. The church and Christian community has consistently attempted to convince the landowner to accept construction of a memorial church right besides the mass grave, but this has been in vain.
Recommendation
There is need for civil society organizations within and outside of west Nile to look into critical documentation of west Nile war history as a starting point to push for compensation. A lot of what happened in west Nile before the intrusion of the LRA was violence inflicted on political grounds. Most of which were not taken keen consideration as regimes flip over. Therefore RLP need to do more extensive engagement with families of victims across west Nile and beyond Arua.