Uganda has identified at least 20 more citizens who wish to renounce armed conflict and return home but remain trapped in areas controlled by rebels fighting the Sudanese government.
Speaking in Gulu City on Monday, UPDF Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security, Maj. Gen. Richard Otto, said the government is aware of their situation but can only facilitate their rescue after engaging the rebel groups controlling those territories.
His remarks came during the reception of 46 returnees, including 23 children and 13 mothers, who were repatriated from the Central African Republic (CAR) and arrived at Gulu Airfield aboard an Aerojet flight after transiting through South Sudan.
According to Gen. Otto, the group included former members of both the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO). Six of the returnees were non-Ugandans who will be repatriated to their respective countries in coordination with their governments.
The returnees’ journey was delayed by bad weather after an initial flight attempt from South Sudan was cancelled. Gen. Otto noted that some had been recruited or forced into armed groups during conflicts in South Sudan, while others had been abducted.
The repatriation effort was conducted in partnership with Terra Renaissance, an NGO that supports the rehabilitation and reintegration of former abductees. The returnees will spend six months at SOS Children’s Village in Gulu, receiving psychosocial support, medical care, nutritional assistance, literacy education, and life-skills training.
Terra Renaissance’s Gulu sub-office head, Jimmy Fred Otema, said the organisation will also provide intensive vocational training for up to 18 months before equipping beneficiaries with tools, capital, and other resources to help them start businesses and become self-reliant.
Meanwhile, Martin Okumu, Deputy Prime Minister of the Acholi Chiefdom, urged communities to warmly welcome the returnees. He said traditional cleansing ceremonies, including the symbolic stepping on an egg, will be conducted before they are reunited with their families, marking a fresh start after years of hardship and captivity.
