Frank Nyakairu
26 October 2007
Kampala — AUTHORITIES in DR Congo last evening handed over to the UN forces Opiyo Makasi, a top commander of the rebel LRA.
Makasi surrendered to the UN peacekeepers (Monuc), a week ago. At the time of his surrender, Makasi, who is in his early 30s was LRA's director of operations.
"Opiyo Makasi has been handed over to the Monuc forces which have started a process of transferring him here," the Defence and Army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye said yesterday.
Mr Thomas Kisembo, a Commissioner in the Amnesty Commission, told Daily Monitor yesterday that Makasi qualifies for amnesty.
"When he [Makasi] denounces armed activity, it's a matter of approaching us and he gets amnesty. We have offices in Beni near the UN base," he said.
A source in the Monuc office in Kampala told Daily Monitor thus: "The process is under way and soon we will deliver him".
Authorities in Kampala have been pushing Kinshasa to surrender Makasi. A humanitarian source in Kinshasa told Daily Monitor that Makasi, who surrendered with his 18-year-old wife and child, was unusually transferred to Kinshasa instead of being moved to the Monuc bases in Goma and Beni in DR Congo.
"The idea was to transfer him to the DDRRR (disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, rehabilitation and re-integration) programme of Monuc in Goma or Beni, but when he got to Kisangani, the Congolese police on the order of Gen. John Numbi decided to re-direct him to Kinshasa," said the source who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak on security matters.
"He was first taken to the Kinshasa police station, Kimanziere, and then transferred to the military intelligence headquarters."
Officials in Kinshasa declined to speak on their reluctance in the past few days to release Makasi despite persistent urging from Kampala.
The UPDF blamed most of the attacks in Pader and Gulu district in 2004 on Makasi who succeeded Onen Kamdulu, then LRA head of military operations who surrendered to the UPDF the same year. Kamdulu was granted amnesty and resumed civilian life in Gulu.
Makasi also reportedly commanded an operation in February 2006 which resulted in the killing of eight Guatemalan commandos under the Monuc peacekeeping mission.
On Monday, the rebels failed to meet with the UN Special Representative for northern Uganda, Mr Joachim Chissano. They claimed Otti was suffering from Cholera. A government official said yesterday that the LRA team is expected in Kampala today but LRA's Godfrey Ayoo has dismissed the claims.
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