High court Judge Simon Byabakama Mugenyi has advised the executives of the Acholi war debt claimants' association, to settle claims of the elders and vulnerable persons first because of their deteriorating state.

He said people should not say that government is not paying them or that the courts were delaying. The judge made the remarks recently after a court session at Gulu High court.

Noah Opwonya, chairperson of the association estimates that over 50 per cent of the real owners are already dead. More than 17,000 war victims are demanding compensation for property they lost during the insurgency.