The Conflict

Uganda gained independence from Britain in 1962. In 1971 the established government was pushed out during a military coup by Idi Amin who declared himself president and gave himself total power. During his time in power the country declined and his rule was a really violent one as he killed as many as 300,000 civilians, focusing on some ethnic groups more than others.

After he was removed in 1979 fights over power continued with a man named Yoweri Museveni finally taking the presidency in 1986; he is still in power today. He began a movement to improve the country but this didn’t go down well in the north of the country where rebellions began that were backed by the northern Acholi tribe, who wanted to get back the power that they used to have before Idi Amin was in power.

The conflict in the north of the country has the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, at the center of it. The LRA wanted to get rid of Museveni, protect the Acholi people and rule Uganda using the Bible’s Ten Commandments. However when the Acholi didn’t support them Kony took his revenge against its people.

In 1994 the LRA got more power and support from other countries. They began killing and torturing local communities, they are the most feared rebel group in Uganda and one of the most violent in the world. Lots of Acholi people were forced to move into camps with terrible living conditions. By 2005 at least 1000 people were estimated to die in these camps every week.

Of the estimated 500,000 people killed many of them were children. 40,000 children were forced to 'night commute' on the streets to avoid abduction by the LRA and those that were taken were forced into killing as child soldiers and used as domestic servants or sex slaves.

In 2005, the International Criminal Court charged Kony and four LRA leaders with war crimes and in order to get their own back the LRA attacked charities and aid groups from other countries. In 2006, Kony denied committing any war crimes and agreed to get involved in peace talks.

There is now peace in Uganda but it is not secure and violence still breaks out in the north of the country. The people of Uganda will continue to suffer from their experiences during the conflicts and the impact on the country will last for many years.