Wider Uganda Update: LRA seeks forgiveness in West Nile, but violence continues in Karamoja

This week we return to our Thursday update on what’s happening in Uganda outside of the north.

Karamoja: October updates from the UN show that cattle raiding in Uganda’s northeast Karamoja region is at its highest levels since March 2007, with nearly 20 attempted raids reported. Armed civilians also continue to resist efforts by the Ugandan military to disarm them. Meanwhile, fear of Karamojong attacks continues to be one of the primary reasons tens of thousands of civilians in the Teso region of northern Uganda remain displaced.

West Nile: This week members of the LRA delegation conducting consultations on justice and reconciliation visited Uganda’s northwestern region of West Nile. "We ask for forgiveness and I can assure you that we are ready to be punished not by the ICC but through mato-oput [Acholi traditional justice system]." West Nile leaders emphasized the importance of forgiveness but also stressed that victims be compensated.

CHOGM: Preparations for next week’s historic Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda have reached a frantic pitch in Uganda. Let’s hope that the international spotlight does not simply ignore the hopes for and challenges to peace and recovery in northern Uganda.