The Road Site Killing: Adrivu Village, 1979 UNLA Obote II Massacre
This is a massacre that took place in 1979. The relatives and eye witnesses of the killings do not remember the exact date and day except the year of the event. This was in a period 1979, bloody violent clashes between loyal soldiers of President Iddi Amin resisting the takeover of the country by UNLA coalition forces led by Milton Obote. The alleged perpetrators according to survivors and eye witnesses we spoke to were the combination forces of the UNLA forces referred to as “soldiers of Obote II . The first attacked was from the east of Adrivu Village. Later the soldiers split in several groups arresting anyone they get hold of.
This particular day of the massacre was the third attack on the village. They forcefully arrested civilians from two villages of; Etori and Adrivu. These were the people massacred here along the junction to Bondo barracks. All of them were first tortured and gunned down. ”. The narrative has it that, out of those killed, 6 were from Etori and 5 from Adrivu village, Arivu sub county, Arua district.
The reason for the massacre wasn’t clear to participants who continuously referred to the murderers as hangry soldiers of Obote. It was notable that other survivor’s family members refer to call them “Acholi rebel”. This attack was not the first of its kind, but was multiple times that locals had to run for their lives, properties and homes destroyed.
The massacre was blame for causing mass displacement into Arua Town while others moved as far as across borders into Congo. A few of those that managed to survive the hardship of refuge life mentioned that when they returned, nothing they left behind was yet visible. Animals and household properties where looted while others were burnt down.
Starting a new life became so tough for returned population. The massive destruction of livelihood is to date blamed for slow pace in poverty reduction among locals of Bondo. “We started on our own with totally no support from government or even political heads and NGOs”, a participant lamented
Location
The killings took place at a road junction to Bondo Barracks east of Arua district in Arivu Sub County. The Site survey location coordinates is at N02.81031, E030.98605 at Elv 1029m. The location of the massacre is on a formerly communal land that belonged to the people of Etori, now own by soldier of UPDF where they established “Bondo Barracks”. This area is surrounded by several hills and one of those is Bondo Hill.
Emerging issue
According interviews conducted, most survivors and victims bitterly complain of lack of acknowledgement and accountability for what happened to them by the government. They alleged there seemingly lack of government’s will to compensate for the life and properties destroyed during this massacre and series of related attacks. Life in the Cogo was on difficult to live as refugees.
Key findings
At the site, there is no mark to locate the site. Only heaps of soil from periodic road maintenance is visible. It’s documented that the remains of the victims is under the heap of soil. There wasn’t proper burial accorded to those killed. Fear had already put the entire village on Panic while seeking safety first. The born where buried about two weeks later.
The participants narrate painful even having lost other family members due to difficult situation of life in Congo. Several human rights violations were mentioned such as unlawful killings, rape of women and girls, slave labor with very little pay, family member going missing and general lack of proper justice administration whenever they felt violated.
Site Survey