SOROTI CITY – National Unity Platform (NUP) President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has shaken the political foundations of eastern Uganda with a bold, emotionally charged promise to compensate war victims in the Teso sub-region within two weeks, if elected president.
Speaking to a large gathering of survivors in Eneku Village, Soroti City, the opposition leader did not mince words. “Two weeks is enough,” he said, referring to the timeline he believes is sufficient for compensating victims of decades-old insurgencies, if he emphasized, there is political will.
In a region marked by deep scars from the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency, cattle rustling, and military operations in the 1980s and early 2000s, Kyagulanyi’s remarks hit home.
The crowd, composed of survivors, local leaders, and civil society representatives, responded with applause, some openly weeping as they recalled personal tragedies and decades of official neglect.
“For years, you’ve been begging for what is rightfully yours. A single cow, a voice, a burial,” Kyagulanyi said with evident frustration. “You deserve justice and dignity, not tokenism, not lies.”
The highlight of the event was the signing of a “Memorandum of Hope” between Kyagulanyi and representatives of the Teso war victims. The symbolic agreement underscored his commitment to reparative justice, especially the restoration of livestock, which once formed the backbone of the region’s economy.
The gesture, though symbolic, marked a sharp contrast with the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government’s track record of delayed and disputed compensation efforts.
Leading the victims’ delegation was Julius Ocen, a long-time advocate for justice in Teso. Ocen estimated the region’s compensation needs at Shs 4 trillion, citing over 15,000 lost lives, widespread displacement, and psychological trauma. Many victims, he noted, remain buried in unmarked mass graves, their families still awaiting closure.
Ocen didn’t hold back in his criticism. “The compensation process has become a theater of corruption. TAPCO, which was supposed to defend our rights, is in bed with the regime,” he charged. “Meanwhile, our elders are dying without justice, without recognition.”
TAPCO (Teso Animal Protection and Compensation Organization) has long been mired in controversy. Ocen accused the group of colluding with NRM operatives to manipulate compensation claims and silence dissenters, an allegation that, if proven, would further tarnish the government’s already damaged credibility in the region.
Kyagulanyi’s visit was not merely symbolic. He was accompanied by Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, who echoed the NUP leader’s sentiments and criticized the apathy of some local leaders.
“When we speak for Teso, it hurts that some of the loudest voices against us are from this very region,” Ssenyonyi said. “The complicity and silence must stop. Teso deserves more than political puppets.”
The political implications of this rally are significant. The Teso sub-region has increasingly expressed frustration with the central government’s neglect, despite voting in large numbers for the NRM in past elections. Kyagulanyi’s message was not just a promise, it was a challenge to the status quo, a dare to the ruling party that has clung to power for nearly four decades.
He concluded with a clear call to action: “Justice delayed is justice denied. Let’s not wait another 30 years. Let these people get what they deserve, now, not tomorrow.”
Kyagulanyi’s fiery rhetoric and daring timeline may invite skepticism, but in a region starved of justice and attention, his words have reignited hope.
Whether the NUP can convert that hope into political traction remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the people of Teso have broken their silence, and they will not be ignored any longer.