In 1986, current President Museveni staged a coup in Uganda. A rebel army emerged in the north of the country. ‘The Holy Spirit Movement’ united against President Museveni's coup. In 1992, the rebel group was transformed into the ‘Lord Resistance Army’ led by Joseph Kony. This was followed by a horrific civil war between the current government army and the ‘LRA’.
While President Museveni was campaigning against AIDS, Kony and his authority figures were picking off girls to appropriate. Not only girls were victims of abduction, children and young adults were also abducted to join the ‘LRA’ as soldiers. After witnessing looting, rape, mutilation and murder, the children were abducted and forced to walk to South Sudan.
Women who returned with children of rebel leaders were not always welcome in their families' courts. Women who found a new partner in Uganda were sometimes forced to disown their children. Meanwhile, the children born to the ‘LRA’ were young adults. They were excluded but found support among peers.
Photo: © Saar Ingelbert
