{UAH} Acholi-Lango divide was born in Kigwa rebels’ camp in Tanzania in the early 1970s.

Acholi-Lango divide was born in Kigwa rebels' camp in Tanzania in the early 1970s.
KIGWA REBELS CAMP

Kigwa camp located in the remote forested Tanzanian region of Tabora was donated to Obote by his friend President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania to host anti-Amin rebels. For almost a decade, Kigwa was our home where we survived by producing and selling charcoal and growing our own food.

Almost everyone in the camp was from northern Uganda with an overwhelming Acholi majority followed by Lango people. Unfortunately, it's from this union that the Acholi-Lango tribal divide became bare and showed worrying signs of nasty scenes ahead; and in the end, shaped the politics of the post Amin Uganda.

The main reason Acholi dominated Kigwa camp and later on the UNLA (Uganda National Liberation Army), was because during the struggle against Amin in the early 1970s, Obote recruited more fighters from Acholi somewhat easily because of its proximity to Sudan.

For example, a trick was used to lure hundreds of Acholi men into the rebellion. In the trick, a prank was disseminated in Acholi region that hundreds of elephants had been slaughtered across the border in Sudan (now South Sudan), so men were invited to go and collect free elephant meat.

Indeed, hundreds of men responded to the prank, and once they reached Owiny Ki Bul in South Sudan, they were abducted and drafted into the anti-Amin struggle. After undergoing a brief military training at Owiny Ki Bul Camp, the recruits were later moved to Kigwa Camp in Tanzania via Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

The term "Owiny Ki Bul", which later renamed the rebel camp inside South Sudan is a Luo code phrase coined by the rebel recruiters to tell those intending to join the camp that: to locate us, listen to the sound of our drum and let it lead you to our location.

Most attempts Obote made to recruit from his Lango area were tactically tricky because the region is located deep in the centre of the country. For instance in 1971, Obote's female agent, Major Janet Aol, successfully recruited hundreds of young men from Lango. However, when she tried to sneak them to Sudan, they were intercepted in Kitgum by Amin's soldiers and they have never been seen again. Janet Aol survived the massacre and continued the fight against Amin till he was toppled in 1979.

The lango/acholi divide became worse after oyite ojok died, l983, and when he was not replaced as chief of staff by okelo basilo. acholi commanders and even their wives were nolonger talking eye to eye. brig.opon acak broke an acholi ambush at mbuya, and was later poisoned at uganda club by capt. langoya, whose wife was then publicly canned by her neighbour, capt. odongoduka, obotes chief bodyguard for talking lugambo, while heq husband watched on. basilio had already started his luweero triangle connections, smuggling updf uniforms, ammunitions and tanks to the bush. moving basilio okelo from central to northern division worsened the rift.

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Allaah gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him."And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things." (6:17)

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