Surrendered LRA commander transferred to MONUC, predecessor arrested in Uganda

LRA commander Opiyo Makasi, who surrendered to UN peacekeepers (MONUC) last week with his “wife” and child, has been transferred back to MONUC after a brief detention by the Congolese government in Kinshasa. Ugandan government officials said Makasi would soon be transferred to their authority and able to undergo a reintegration process. Read more at The Monitor .

Ironically, Ugandan officials announced today that Onen Kamudulu, an LRA commander who was replaced by Makasi after surrendering himself in 2004, has been arrested in Uganda on charges of armed robbery. Authorities allege that Kamudulu, supposed to have begun reintegration into civilian life, has been operating with an armed robbery gang in northern Uganda. If the charges are upheld, Kamudulu’s experience is reminder that support for ex-rebels, a strengthened civilian police force and judiciary and wider community development is crucial to providing a ‘peace dividend’ in the north. Without such initiatives, northern Ugandans will continue to face internal security threats – from Karamojong cattle raiders, armed criminals, former militia members and the UPDF – even if the LRA rebellion comes to a halt.