Discipline, Childhood and Parenting Lessons from an Acholi Mother in Uganda
Afew nights ago, over dinner with a workmate, we found ourselves lost in a conversation about parenting. We compared the way we raise children today with the way we were raised, and we both agreed that our generation of parents is much softer. We laughed at how we once survived tougher rules, the sticks, and […]
My Encounters with LGBTQ+ Culture in the Philippines
When I landed in the Philippines in April 2014 to begin my assignment as an Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeper, I anticipated conflict resolution work, community dialogues, and security briefings. I had been assigned to Pikit Municipality in North Cotabato, Mindanao, a region known more for the Moro (Muslim) fight for autonomy and self-rule. But no one […]
How My Village Uncle with Leprosy Infected All the Cups in Our House
When I was a child growing up with my siblings and our mother in Gulu City, Uganda, I had a limited understanding of what leprosy was. If I saw someone with signs and symptoms of leprosy on the road, I didn’t want to greet them. I would simply run. I thought that even saying hello […]
An Open Letter to Kilak North MP Anthony Akol and Bardege-Layibi MP Ojara Martin Mapenduzi
Dear Honorable Akol and Mapenduzi, I write to you not only as members of Parliament but as sons of Acholi, a region that has endured significant poverty and underdevelopment under the current regime. Recent news reports have suggested that you both have defected to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. However, some of your critics […]
Surviving the Rules of the Gun: Lessons on Power and Resilience from South Sudan
orking in South Sudan taught me lessons about power, authority, and survival that I’ll never forget. Some moments were uncomfortable, others eye-opening, but all were crucial in helping me understand working in the context of conflict. Growing up in Uganda in the 1990s, my view of soldiers was shaped by fear. Soldiers were figures of […]
The Great Sacred Heart Secondary School Escape: How I Got Arrested for Flirting
n 1998, I joined Bishop Angelo Negri College in Gulu, Uganda. I was an adolescent. Little did I know that my adolescent adventures would soon lead me to a police arrest at a girls’ school, a shirtless ‘sentence’, and an unforgettable lesson. Bishop Angelo Negri College is a boy boarding school owned by the catholic […]
International Criminal Court (ICC) and Uganda; who should try Dominic Ongwen?
January 10, 2015 Last week, news emerged that one of LRA’s top leaders, Dominic Ogwen, who was indicted and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity and war crimes, was captured by Seleka rebels in Central Africa Republic and handed over to US Forces. There were news reports that US […]
NRM is not helping poor Ugandans
NRM’s loss in the hotly contested Jinja East constituency by election to Forum for Democratic Change’s Paul Mwiru, Kyadondo East Member of Parliament, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda reportedly referred to the NRM as “a dead government that needed a successor”. Kahinda Otafiire, a prominent NRM party member, also Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs reportedly said […]
Democracy; Uganda’s unfinished political struggle
The news around the emerging rebel groups in Uganda, the return of Olara Otunnu and the involvement of “some Acholi” members of Parliament including Gulu’s Chairman Norbert Mao in rebel activities has raised the political stakes much higher ahead of the 2011 elections in Uganda. It’s nearly 47 years since Uganda gained its independence from […]
Poverty and Hunger Worsening Primary Education
Growing food insecurity has become a serious concern in north and eastern Uganda over the recent months, caused by high food prices due to limited supply and overwhelming demand, quarantine on animal movement as a result of foot and mouth disease and prolonged dry spell.The World Food Day this year will also mark the ninth […]