In 2005, my friends, cousin, and I travelled from Gulu, Uganda, to Kampala to attend my cousin Douglas's graduation party. He had just graduated from Makerere University Business School with a bachelor’s degree, and we were excited to celebrate this significant milestone with him. The party took place at our uncle's home in Ntinda, and it was a fantastic event filled with food and drinks. The party ended on Saturday night, and we planned to travel back to Gulu on Sunday so we could be in school on Monday. Before leaving, we were invited to enjoy some leftovers and drink at our uncle's place. We indulged in the food and drinks, not knowing that these choices would later cause problems on our journey back to Gulu. Our Troubles Begin Sundays are typically not the best days to travel by public transportation. There are usually fewer travellers, and buses often take longer to find enough passengers before departing. It was a common practice for bus owners to cancel trips if
While campaigning in Gulu Town in November, former Makerere University vice chancellor and independent presidential candidate, Prof Venansius Baryamureeba, promised to institute a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate atrocities committed in northern Uganda. Despite the prevailing peace in the region, some questions continue to be asked by victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)-UPDF war if those who committed crimes against them will ever be held accountable. Unfortunately for the victims, the government of Uganda has been quiet despite several calls from the civil society and politicians that a truth and reconciliation commission be set up to investigate the violations by both the LRA and UPDF and bring perpetrators to justice. Analysts argue that the government is worried about unearthing its own crimes, committed by the UPDF. They point out that the lack of significant steps to understand and heal the past could spiral more violence and conflict in future. T