Families of children who went missing after they were abducted on the night Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels raided Lukodi Internally Displaced Persons camp (IDP) have asked the government to trace their where about.
On the evening of May 19th 2004, a group of armed LRA fighters armed with assault rifles overpowered government forces at Lukodi village, Bungatira sub County in Gulu district before going on rampage leaving over 50 unarmed civilians dead, burning down houses and later abducting dozens of children fleeing with them into the bushes.
More than ten years later, there is no news about their where about.
Ms Florence Apoko, 44, a mother of five whose two children were abducted by rebels that fateful night says though her daughter returned, her son is still missing.
“My daughter Jennifer Atenyo managed to escape with a wound on her leg but her brother Francis Nyeko was not that lucky enough,” says Apoko.
Unfortunately one year later Atenyo succumbed to her injuries after it became cancerous.
Apoko has endured a lot of pains as a result of the attack that robbed her of her two children who were still full of life.
“I don’t think he is coming back. I am not sure if he is still alive but I ask the government to bring him back to me so that I can hold him in my arms again,” adds Apoko.
Atenyo was 18 while Nyeko was 15 by the time they were abducted by suspected LRA.
Another parent who suffered the same fate, Ms Ajulina Achola says there is no news about her son, Sunday Otto.
“He was just 14 and in P5 at Bungatira Primary school when they took him away,” says Achola while holding back tears.
Achola says she has endured a lot of difficult time following the incident which left her without any hope of finding her son alive.
She accordingly asked the government to help them bring back the missing persons so that they can once again have peace.
The parents say they will not perform any funeral rites unless their missing loved ones are confirmed dead.
Mr Gibson Okullu, the area L.C I Chairperson says some of the parents are finding it hard to come to terms with what befell them that night.
Okullu says the most disturbing news is that those who escaped have revealed that some of the abducted girls have been turned into sex slaves.
Mr Nathan Ebiro, the Chairperson Uganda Victims’ Foundation demanded that the government makes a deliberate effort to trace the where about of the missing children believed to be in LRA captivity.
Mr Oryem Nyeko, the Communications Officer at Justice & Reconciliation Project (JRP), a local Non Governmental Organization (NGO) that promotes sustainable peace says the affected families have over the past years been having questions of where their loved ones are years after they were abducted.
“Such initiatives will bring some kind of closure for the parents if they come to learn the fate of missing their children.”
The Gulu acting Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Andrew Moses Awany says the government acknowledges the pain the parents are going through.
Awany says, “The government is doing all it can to bring these children back and reunite them with their parents.”
A report released in 2012 by Children and Youth as Peace builders (CAP) Uganda indicated that a total of 1,000 people abducted by the LRA in Gulu alone are still missing and their where about are unknown.
