Chris Ocowun
27 December 2008
Kampala — JOSEPH Kony and his fighters always celebrate Christmas, but not this year. Ten days to the day, his bases came under heavy bombardment from helicopter gunships and fighter planes, scattering the rebels and denying them a happy Christmas.
The December 14 surprise attack by a joint force of Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo on the rebels' camps snuggled in the thick Garamba National Park could have interrupted the traditional rituals and fete presided over by the rebel leader during 'peace' time.
Sustained infantry mop-up attacks and air patrols have sent the rebels into disarray, denying them the opportunity to celebrate Christmas which would have involved prayers and a big feast.
Assuming the role of the chief priest, the rebel chief would have led the prayers. Adherence to the Ten Commandments would have been the central theme of his sermon before the fighters and their family settled for a meal of a cow or wild game meat to mark the birth of Jesus Christ.
In some years, the festivity would be crowned with dancing and watching movies.
According to former LRA fighters, Kony decreed that Christmas celebrations be held every year but this depended on the military situation. There would be no festival when under attack. "With LRA under attack in Garamba, they certainly did not celebrate," said former LRA director of operations Brig. Michael Odong Acellam.
On its part, the LRA would privately declare a unilateral ceasefire to celebrate Christmas. But it would retaliate when attacked and cancel merry-making.
"On Christmas Day, there would be no attack on either the civilian population or UPDF soldiers," Acellam explained.
"Christmas is normally celebrated more than New Year by the LRA because they consider it the day Jesus Christ was born to save the world. Heavy deployments are made, reinforced with routine foot patrol to provide maximum security to the high command during the celebration," he said.
All commanders, according to Acellam, would shed off military fatigues for white Kanzus (tunics). This gave them the angelic appearance to match the Christmas spirit of holiness and innocence.
The areas earmarked for worship, normally under trees, would be declared holy ground and wearing shoes was prohibited.
"Kony would lead the prayers, preach on the Ten Commandments and also review LRA's achievements during the year and talk about future plans," Acellam recalled.
"The celebration starts with early morning prayers led by Kony and sometimes assisted by the LRA chief catechist, Col. Abonga Papa, before he was captured in 2005," he explained
Kony's military campaign bereft of a political agenda has, according to Acellam, been guided by the Holy Spirit. The divine power reportedly inspired him to fight the NRM government and replace it with a regime based on the biblical Ten Commandments.
However, its brutal acts - killing, raping, maiming and abduction - betray the commandments, turning the LRA into a manifestation of Satan. But that did not stop it from clothing in Christianity.
According to Acellam, during Christmas Day prayers, the rebels sat according to their ranks in the order of seniority. At the front were the senior officers, followed by junior officers and next were the senior non-commissioned officers, the privates and then women and children.
Each LRA unit would slaughter a cow and share the meat. And every household in the unit would prepare the meat which would later be taken to the festival ground and served to the fighters first.
"We had many heads of cattle in the bush which were donated by the Arabs and others looted from the people in northern Uganda and Dinka in southern Sudan," the ex-commander said.
"After eating food, each unit prepared some kind of entertainment in form of traditional dances or dancing to reocrded music."
LRA's most memorable Christmas was in the 1992. It was celebrated in Uganda at Apar, Amuru district, a place the rebels named Bethlehem.
"Kony, with all the senior commanders including the late Otti Lagony and Omona, the Field commander, were present. People from the nearby villages bought soft drinks like sodas and other items for the grand celebration," Achellam recalled.
"At Bethlehem, we celebrated Christmas peacefully for one week, without any attack from the UPDF," he said.
Reliving her memories of Christmas in the bush, Kony's former wife, Evelyn Amony, said the celebrations were elaborate.
"If there was a parade organised, after the prayers Kony would inspect before people would start cooking food," Amony remembered.
She recalled that in 1998 they held the celebration at Nsitu in Southern Sudan, during which the government of Sudan donated five cows and Kony bought more four which they feasted on.
"Apart from sodas, there was only milk - no beers or other strong drinks because LRA fighters are prohibited from taking alcohol," she said, adding that for the New Year, they would have overnight prayers led by Kony and Abong from midnight until dawn.
According to Amony, on several occasions the UPDF attacks disrupted Christmas celebrations. The army, she said, timed its attack when the rebels were feasting and had let down their guard.
Ex-LRA officer Capt. Raphael Jalobo, who defected from the rebel force recently, said for the last two years in Garamba, the rebels had been preparing some local wine out of honey and yeast for Christmas celebration.
"But the wine was officially meant for the senior officers," he pointed out. He recalled that the festivities in Garamba, where LRA have been based since 2005, included eating "beef and wild meat, vegetables, beans and peas grown by the LRA rebels within their camp. After the feast, we would dance and watch movies."
He explained that LRA rebels also reared animals such as goats, chicken in addition to growing their own food.
He, however, said that there had been some changes in worship on Christmas Day in the rebels' camp. Instead of the Christmas service, Kony would give a lecture and close with prayers and everybody would make the sign of the cross.
"During the lecture, Kony would explain the history or background of the LRA rebellion, their plans, and review the activities of the past," Jalobo narrated.
According to Ex-LRA Capt Ray Apire, who was a preacher in the bush, celebrating Christmas in the bush started with clearing the compounds, latrines, bathrooms and venue for the prayers. The women would spruce up their huts and wash clothes.
Apire explained that cattle for Christmas would be slaughtered and the meat distributed to each household before the fighters and their families congregated for prayers.
"The prayers would focus on the birth of Jesus and how He came to save the world from troubles. Everybody would pray to Jesus to change their life and that of their relatives," he said.
"After eating, soft drinks are distributed to everybody and thereafter people disperse amid excitement to their respective unit, from where they continue with the celebration, dancing and watching films of Jesus Christ," he said.
Apire recalled with fondness the 1990 Christmas near Omee in Amuru at a place called Tulayimu, which had been abandoned by the community with lots of crops in the gardens. The LRA harvested the food and had a big feast.
"On that day, LRA feasted and danced till morning. There was heavy deployment to stop the UPDF from disrupting the party," he said.
With the two-year lull in fighting since LRA set up camp in Congo, the rebels could have been preparing the annual feast before they were attacked. The LRA chief, now aged 46, has spent nearly half of his Christmases in his lifetime in the bush.
Kony, a former Catholic altar boy along with his commanders: Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen, Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya and Charles Tabuley, were indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2004 for crimes against humanity.
Otti was killed last year on Kony's orders, while Lukwiya and Tabuley died in battle.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
