modern challenges to traditional justice: the struggle to deliver remedy and reparation in...
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
1/22
Strengthening the humanity and dignity of people in crisis through knowledge and practice
Modern Challenges to raditional Justice:Te Struggle to Deliver Remedy and
Reparation in War-Aected Lango
June 2013
eddy Atim and Keith Proctor
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
2/22
2013 Feinstein International Center. All Rights Reserved.
Fair use of this copyrighted material includes its use for non-commercial educational pur-
poses, such as teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, commentary, and news reporting.
Unless otherwise noted, those who wish to reproduce text and image les from this publica-
tion for such uses may do so without the Feinstein International Centers express permission.
However, all commercial use of this material and/or reproduction that alters its meaning or
intent, without the express permission of the Feinstein International Center, is prohibited.
Feinstein International Center
Tufts University
114 Curtis Street
Somerville, MA 02144
USA
tel: +1 617.627.3423fax: +1 617.627.3428
c.tufts.edu
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
3/22
Suggested Citation
Atim, eddy, and Keith Proctor (2013).Modern Challenges to raditional Justice: Te
Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Afected Lango. Feinstein Interna-
tional Center, uts University: Medord, USA.
Acknowledgements
Te author grateully acknowledges organizations that supported the work: Comp-
ton Foundation, and Rights and Democracy. I would also like to Tank Pro. DyanMazurana who supported the research and report process to its nality. Tank you
or your tireless yet supportive role. I also thank Ariane Brunet or her support dur-
ing eld research and analyses o the ndings. Te eld research would not have
been possible without Howard Onyok who, as a research assistant to the project,
helped in interviews and daily interaction in two study sites.
Lastly, I would like to thank the people o the study sites or their openness and or
giving time to interact with the research team during the eld study.
Photo Credit
Cover photo by Lily Korhonen
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
4/22
Contents
Executive Summary 3
I. Introduction 4
Study Methods 5
II. raditional Justice in Lango 5
Overview o the Langi 6
Te Institution o the Paramount Chie 7
Cultural and raditional Leadership Structure in Lango 8
raditional Justice Systems in Lango Culture 8
raditional Practices or Cases o a Grievous Nature 9
III. Response by Lango raditional Justice Mechanisms 10
IV. Victims and the Lango raditional Justice Systems 12
Limitations in the Capacity o raditional Justice Mechanisms 12
V. Conclusion 15
Endnotes 17
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
5/22
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
6/22Feinstein International Center4
in a weakened orm to bridge social ssures in the
atermath o harm. As their purpose is not simply
to punish an individual perpetrator, but to restore
severed social ties, their continued existence, in
whatever orm, provides an important process or
helping mend damaged communities.
During eld research, however, we ound that thereexists very little knowledge among victims and
victims communities about the role o traditional
justice mechanisms in addressing serious crimes
and violations. Very ew people knew that theJuba
Peace Agreementenvisioned such a role or tradi-
tional leaders and justice mechanisms in Lango.
Similarly, during eldwork, we were repeatedly
told by inormants in Lango that people are not
reerring any cases o serious crimes and violations
committed by parties to the confict to traditional
justice mechanisms or redress and remedy. Te
community members who reported cases with their
traditional leaders did so to obtain letters o recom-
mendation or acknowledgement to bring the case
orward to higher level governmental authorities,
particularly at the district level. Our study ound
that there are ve main actors that explain this
reality, including:
(1) raditionally, the Lango did not have any cen-
tral tribal authority;
(2) Most respondents reported that traditional
leaders do not have the competence, skills,
capacity and resources to handle cases o seri-
ous crimes committed during the GoU/LRA
confict and their resulting harms;
(3) Te lack o well-codied procedures to handle
cases o serious crimes and their eects makes
claims or redress and remedy almost impossi-
ble or victims who may wish to bring orward
a claim;
(4) Women respondents especially mentioned that
most traditional justice mechanisms as they ex-
ist in the past and present in Lango are biased
and avour males and promote male domi-
nance; and
(5) Provisions under theJuba Peace Agreementpro-hibit bringing to account state actors alleged to
have committed serious human rights viola-
tions through traditional justice systems.
Endorsing international standards, theJuba Peace
Agreement, under Agenda Item Tree, conrms
right to remedy and reparation or victims o seri-
ous crimes and violations committed in the LRA/
GoU confict. Te idea under Agenda Item Treewas that traditional justice mechanisms would play
an important role in partially helping victims o
serious crimes and violations realize their rights to
remedy and reparation. However, our study nds
that currently, traditional justice mechanisms in
Lango sub-region are unable to provide any remedy
or reparation or such victims, with an even more
complicated situation or emale victims who su-
ered gender-related crimes such as sexual violence.
We conclude that i traditional justice mechanisms
are to have any meaningul impact on helping vic-
tims o the GoU/LRA hostilities, and particularly
victims o serious crimes to realize their rights to
remedy and reparation, eorts need to be made to
determine what traditional justice systems are actu-
ally capable o doing.
I. Introduction
Tis report contributes to the existing discourse
around the capacity o traditional justice mecha-
nisms to deal with serious crimes and harms su-
ered during the GoU/LRA hostilities in northern
Uganda. It specically looks to provide more nuance
and understanding o the capacity o existing tradi-
tional justice mechanisms to address serious crimes
and harms suered during the GoU/LRA hostilities,
as envisaged under theJuba Peace Agreement.
Te research leading to this report explored the
knowledge, strengths and limitations o Lango tra-
ditional justice mechanisms in dealing with serious
crimes and violations and the capacity o these sys-
tems to provide remedy and redress. In particular,
the study ocused on: (a) traditional justice systems
and mechanisms in Lango, taking into account
historical perspectives and use; (b) the extent o the
eects (past and present) o serious crimes and vio-
lations committed during the GoU/LRA hostilitiesand local responses to serious crimes and violations
by victims and their amilies; and (c) the response
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
7/22Modern Challenges to raditional Justice 5
by traditional justice mechanisms to serious crimes
and harms suered as a result o the GoU/LRA
hostilities in Lango sub-region. Gender and genera-
tional analyses were used throughout the study.
Te report aims to contribute to the discourse
around the role o traditional justice mechanisms
in dealing with cases o serious crimes and viola-tions committed during the LRA/GoU hostilities
or two primary reasons. First, within theJuba
Peace Agreementunder Agenda Item Tree on Ac-
countability and Reconciliation, there is emphasis
on the role and unctions o traditional justice
mechanisms to deal with serious crimes and harms
suered by victims.5 Second, there is repeated
mention and recognition o the role o traditional
justice mechanisms in dealing with serious crimes
and the resulting harms o the GoU/LRA hostilitiesin high-level policy meetings, warranting the need
to explore and provide a grounded perspective to
inorm the basis or such discourses.
Study Methods
Te report presents evidence primarily gathered
rom interviews with 103 people rom 2009 to
2011. In our initial study design, to determine the
study site and methods, investigations were madewithin the Lango sub-region to see where tradition-
al justice mechanisms were being used to address
cases o serious crimes and harms suered in the
GoU/LRA confict; surprisingly, we could not nd
a single site. We then revised the study design and
decided to select some o the heavily war-aected
communities to see what, i any, response utilized
Lango traditional justice mechanisms to deal with
cases o serious crimes and harms perpetrated byparties to the confict.
We chose two rural sites within Lango sub-region
or the study. Te rural sites were those villages that
had been the locations o large-scale atrocities and
attacks and were located in Ogur and Okwang sub-
counties.6 In all locations there were hundreds o
cases o war-related killings, people intentionally set
on re, torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, mu-
tilation, abduction, orced recruitment, enorced
disappearance, sexual violence, and widespread,
wanton destruction and pillaging o property. We
interviewed victims, victims groups, local ocials,
clan leaders, grassroots cultural leaders, and CSOs
on their use o traditional justice mechanisms in
order to seek remedy and redress or serious crimes
and harms perpetrated by parties to the confict.
Te data presented in this report draws principally
rom the primary data collected between 2009 and
2011. Where relevant, the authors cite secondaryliterature.
Te research team then analysed the data to gener-
ate the ndings presented in this report. Te team
explored: (a) Lango traditional justice practices
that deal with cases o a grievous nature; (b) the
serious crimes and violations interviewees alleged
were committed during the GoU/LRA hostilities
and the impacts on victims in the past and present;
(c) interviewees views on the ability o traditionaljustice system in Lango to deal with serious crimes
committed and harms suered; and (d) inter-
viewees views on the strengths and limitations
o Lango traditional justice mechanisms to deal
with serious crimes and violations rom a gender
perspective.
Te validation o ndings was assessed by (a)
triangulation; (b) comparing ndings rom second-
ary literature; and (c) eedback rom secondaryinterviews with key inormants within the Lango
Cultural Foundation (LCF.)
II. raditional Justice in Lango
As part o theJuba Peace Agreement, under the
Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation
and itsAnnexure, traditional justice mechanisms
were envisioned as one o the mechanisms to help
address serious crimes and their resulting harmssuered by civilians in northern Uganda during the
confict between the GoU and the LRA. 7 radi-
tional justice mechanisms were envisaged to work
alongside other transitional justice mechanisms
within the larger justice and reconciliation rame-
work. TeAnnexure to the Agreement on Account-
ability and Reconciliation specically states:
Te Government shall, in consultation with
relevant interlocutors, examine the practice o tra-ditional justice mechanisms in the aected areas,with a view to identiying the most appropriateroles or such mechanisms. In particular, it shall
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
8/22Feinstein International Center6
consider the role and impact o the processes onwomen and children.
Tis section o the report seeks to contribute to an
understanding o the parameters and practices o
traditional justice mechanisms within Lango sub-
region and seeks to identiy eorts by Langi tradi-
tional justice mechanisms to address serious crimes
and violations committed during the confict in
Lango sub-region and their resulting harms.8
Te section rst provides a brie background o the
people o Lango sub-region, and Lango traditional
culture, structure and systems. It then outlines
which traditional justice mechanisms are being
used, i any, to address serious crimes and violations
committed by parties to the LRA-GoU confict and
the resulting harms.
Overview of the Langi
Te Langi provide a problematic case or ethno-
graphic classication.9 Driberg amously identied
the Langi as a Nilotic tribe who originated east o
Bahr al Jabal and were related to the Shilluks. Due
to water scarcity and incursions by Hamitic invad-
ers in the early sixteenth century, several Nilotic
peoples including the Acholi emigrated south.
Te Langi ollowed, but later, in the latter hal o
the seventeenth century. Te migration o the Lan-
gi continued over a long period punctuated by con-
fict with the Madi, the Acholi, and the Alira. Tey
began to arrive in present-day northern Uganda
around two hundred years ago, overrunning their
present location by the end o the nineteenth cen-
tury.10 osh oered a somewhat dierent account
o Langi origins, identiying them as an amalgam.
Te Langi have traits typically identied with bothNilotes and Para-Nilotes. In terms o their Nilotic
roots, the Langi language is classied as a South-
ern Lwo tongue and is closely related to Acholi.
Also, the Langi social organization more closely
resembles the hereditary clan chiedoms common
to the Lwo rather than the more variegated social
structures ound among the Para-Nilotes. However,
Langi cultural traditions suggest strong ties to the
Para-Nilotes; indeed, there is linguistic evidence
that the Langi once spoke a Para-Nilotic tongue.Signicantly, other Lwo groups tend not to regard
the Langi as Lwo at all, and Lwo traditions have
little or no place in Langi olklore. 11 According to
osh, this is all to suggest that the Langi represent a
usion o both Nilotes and Para-Nilotes.12
Perhaps as a consequence, the identity o the Lango
has been a matter o some contestation. A period o
long migration, possibly including the amalgama-
tion o dierent groups, resulted in a people with-out centralized institutions o authority. Te norm
was constant intra-tribal bickering only occasion-
ally arrested by the rise o a powerul war leader.
According to osh, the Langi owed their collec-
tive identity not to internal consistency, but to a
historical experience that set them apart rom their
neighbours.13 In act, the Langi did not identiy
collectively as Langi beore the nineteenth century.
Even then, the term Lango had been invented by
neighbouring Nilotes to describe someone who wasnot Lwo. Nevertheless, with the end o migration,
Lango identity began to crystallize, a process that
was perhaps accelerated by colonial administra-
tors responsible or registering tribes and drawing
administrative boundaries. Whatever the exact
character o their long migration, where the Langi
nally stopped approximately aligns today with the
Lango sub-region.
Source: GIS Research and Map Collection, Ball State Uni-versity Libraries, bsumaps.blogspot.com/2011/10/ball-state-university-libraries-maps-in.html
Ethnic Groups o Uganda
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
9/22Modern Challenges to raditional Justice 7
While their origins are somewhat mysterious, the
Langi have long been an agro-pastoral people.
Teir traditional mechanisms and practices are thus
tied to land and livestock. Historically, the cultiva-
tion o crops was carried out in conjunction with
raising cattle. Cattle ownership had important so-
cial and cultural implications or the Langi in ad-
dition to being a ood supply and serving as ploughanimals, herd size correlated to social status.14 Te
impoverishment o the war, and specically the cat-
tle raiding by the Karamajong, has depleted Langi
herds so dramatically that cattles centrality in the
Langi livelihood system is now much diminished.
Agriculture in Lango has operated on a subsis-
tence basis characterized by a number o limiting
eatures. First, their millet-based agriculture is ar
more labour intensive than plantain agriculture. Asa consequence, both men and women have histori-
cally worked in the elds, in contrast to the neigh-
bouring Bantu, who depend much more on banana
crops historically harvested by women. A second
challenge is the uneven distribution o annual
rainall. Similar to other Nilotic regions, there are
two seasons rather than our, the rainall coming to
a single peak, rather than two. Te dry season lasts
rom December to March, and the rainy season
rom April to November. Tis two-season pattern
limits harvests and increases the chance o shortage,
particularly in dry years.15
raditionally, the lie and work o the Langi were
organized around numerous patrilineal clans that
mediated birth and marriage, property and inheri-
tance. Clan leaders and village elders oversaw tra-
ditional rites, many o which were associated with
the sacrice or transer o livestock, and enorced
customary law provisions. Broadly speaking, iden-tity was rooted in kinship, ancestry, and obligations
to ones village.
raditional practices have eroded with the rise o
Christianity, where missionaries made deeper in-
roads than they have among, or example, the more
traditional Acholi. Te breakdown o traditional
orms o authority has been urther exacerbated by
years o internal strie. Te impoverishment and
dislocations resulting rom Ugandas post-colonialconficts has had the collateral eect o drastically
undermining the clan system and institutions that
underwrote customary practices.
Te Institution of the Paramount Chief
Te Won Nyaci (paramount chie) is, in theory,
the dominant Langi cultural leader. However, in
its current incarnation as a permanent position overy limited authority, the oce is ar dierent in
character than its historical antecedent.
Prior to colonization, the Langi did not have any
central tribal authority.16 Any cooperation among
the dierent clans was primarily or discrete goals,
such as raiding or ghting an enemy, and in such
cases the various clan leaders (Owitong) might se-
lect a paramount chie to organize or a common
purpose. In the anarchic Lango tribal system, then,the Won Nyaci was a temporary martial leader, not
a permanent administrator.
Te notion o the Won Nyaci as a provisional
leader changed ater the arrival o the British. Langi
clan leaders, operating as local administrators
within the Protectorate, sought to ampliy their
authority by proposing the institution o the Won
Nyaci as a permanent administrator responsible
or all o Lango. A Langi clan chie would, it wasthought, ll the role. Te British, however, had res-
ervations about centralizing local authority under
the auspices o a native chie. Instead, in the post-
war period, a series o political reorms reduced the
authority o the clan chies in avour o a district
council.17 Nevertheless, the vision o a permanent
Won Nyaci, as a counterbalance to centralized po-
litical authority, had been articulated. In the years
ollowing independence, the oce o the Won
Nyaci was eventually established as a permanentoce to advocate on behal o the Langi tribe, to
represent the Langi culture, and to advance tribal
solidarity.
However, rather than serving as a counterbalance
to the centralized authority o the state, the Won
Nyaci was integrated into the political scheme o
Kampala. In 1993 the NRM government acted to
reinstate traditional leaders. President Museveni
convinced parliament to amend the 1967 constitu-tion to restore tribal kingships, but only as cultural
leaders.18 Te reinstatement o cultural leaders was
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
10/22Feinstein International Center8
ollowed shortly in 2006 by the adoption o the
policy on culture known as Te Uganda National
Culture Policy.19 Te current Won Nyaci, Adwong
Yosam Odur, is the third to hold this modern posi-
tion, and was inaugurated on December 10, 1995.
Te restoration o cultural leaders is largely viewed
by local people, as well as some national and inter-national analysts, as a political tool or the NRM
government to gain political capital and patron-
age in particular areas o the country with strong
cultural institutions; most notably in the central
region among the Baganda.20
Cultural and raditional LeadershipStructure in Lango
Te traditional system in Lango is largely struc-tured along the clan systems. Tere are 126 clans
spread throughout Lango headed by a clan leader
called Awitong (or Owitong or plural.) Each o the
Owitong is in charge o the members o their clans.
Te collective clan heads (Owitong; sing. Awitong)
nominates one o them to ll the position o Won
Nyaci. Te Owitong is assisted and supported in
their work by the various clan heads at the lower
level o the hierarchy, which ranges rom the
district, sub-county, parish, village and homestead
levels.21 Despite the existence o the dierent clans
and their leadership, the Won Nyaci is seen as the
head o the Langi people and deender o their
traditional practices.22 Te Won Nyaci relies on the
Awitong o a particular clan to reach the grassroots
and vice versa.
Te Won Nyaci is assisted by a governing council
comprised o selected Owitong. Te council is
composed o cabinet ministers and representativesrom other institutions and special interest groups
making a total o 31 members.23 Te cabinet
is composed o nine dierent sectors: Finance,
Health, Education, Gender, Culture and Security,
Agriculture, Lands, Works and echnical Services,
Ministry o the Palace and the Prime Ministers
oce o the Lango Cultural Foundation (LCF).
Te governing council has technocrats in respective
ministries to advise the ministers/committee chair-
persons on appropriate technical matters to ensure
they are on par with GoU policy and interests. Te
council is assisted by the oce o the Prime Minis-
ter who is the ocial head o the LCF.
raditional Justice Systems inLango Culture
Tere is little up-to-date literature on Langogenerally and Lango traditional justice system and
cultural practices particularly. Most o the inorma-
tion available has been drawn interviews and oral
traditions. Given the dynamics o cultural change
in evidence in Lango, it is very dicult to nd
uniorm inormation on Lango traditions, and
many practices have undergone dramatic change.24
Furthermore, local variation is evident.25 Neverthe-
less, there are large areas o general continuity, and
explicit cross-regional modalities and mechanisms.Generally speaking, traditional justice systems in
Lango exist primarily or the purpose o resolving
Structure o Lango Cultural Foundation(LCF)
Won Nyaci
Governing Council
(Te technocrats and committee members ovarious sectors headed by a Chairperson and
advised by a technocrat or each sector.)
Owitong
(Te clan heads spread throughout Lango.Tey elect the Won Nyaci,
who is drawn rom their ranks.)
Rwode
Jagi
Janjagi
Owi-Otema
(Tis is at the homestead or village level andis the lowest level o clan leadership.)
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
11/22Modern Challenges to raditional Justice 9
conficts within the community. Within the tradi-
tional justice system o the Lango people,
a crime committed by any member o a clan, isattributed to the whole clan and all the memberso that clan are responsible or the crime and haveto share the punishment or responsibility or thecrime. On the other hand, the person who has
been killed is also taken as a loss to the whole clanand the grie is jointly shared by the clan.26
raditional Practices for Cases ofa Grievous Nature
Driberg writes that no permanent judicial or
administrative body existed among the Lango. Te
dierence in treatment o complaints within the
system paid more attention to the communal con-
sequences and less to the actual oence suered bythe direct victim. Tus there were dierent types
o crimes and responsibility: the amily and com-
munal level and the civil and criminal level. Te
ormer related more to individual consequences
and was addressed through compensation, while
the latter had communal consequences and thus
was an oence against the entire society and, as
such, could be punishable by death. Such crimes
included incest, witchcrat, and sexual aberrations,
among others.27
Te main traditional justice mechanisms practiced
in Lango relating to cases o a grievous nature, such
as killing, are the complementary practices o Kayo
Cuk and Culo Kwor.
Culo Kworliterally means compensation or the
dead. When a crime has been committed, the
guilty one is required to make restitution. ra-
ditionally, this restitution came in the orm olivestock. For instance, someone accused o murder
would, upon the judgment o the community
elders, provide cows rom his herd or, lacking
a herd, rom his amilys to satisy the demands
o the victims amily. Up to six head would be
provided to the deceaseds next-o-kin. Culo Kwor
compensated the amily or the loss o the dead.
Kayo Cukollows. Where Culo Kworis the act o
compensation, Kayo Cukis the ritual o reconcili-
ation. It is a rite also mediated by livestock. In a
case o homicide, in addition to the six head o
cattle provided or Culo Kwor, an additional cow
normally a bull is provided by the murderer (or,
again, his amily). Te bull is ritualistically slaugh-
tered and eaten. By bringing together the amilies
o perpetrator and victim, Kayo Cukis a rite o rec-
onciliation necessary to rearm communal bonds
and avoid a harmul eud.28 Notably, the ceremony
oKayo Cukis only perormed and attended byelders; young women and children as well as the
oender are considered unt to take part.29
Both Culo Kworand Kayo Cukhave transormed
over the years, mainly due to widespread and
increased poverty. As a result, in recent times,
practices oKayo Cukare oten not perormed even
ater the ullment oCulo Kwor. Even in the case
oCulo Kwor, the recommended numbers o cattle
are sometimes not ullled and people can eitherpay less or more cattle depending on the social
status, gender and age o the victim.30 In some
cases, because o the widespread and signicant loss
o livestock due to armed raiding and the wars, and
the resulting high level o impoverishment in most
parts o Lango, Culo Kworis made using money
and not cattle. oday, it is normally the responsibil-
ity o the oenders household to make the required
payment (in terms o money or material objects)
and, in contrast to the past, clans rarely contribute.
Incidents such as death or injuries by accident
on the road and during employment by govern-
ment bodies and private companies have also
been treated under the traditional mechanisms o
Culo Kwor. Such institutions are subjected by the
deceaseds clan to pay compensation or the loss o
their member who was an employee and died due
to the employers negligence.31
Te practices oCulo Kworand Kayo Cukonly hap-
pen ater the acknowledgement and acceptance o
responsibility or the harm caused by the oender
and his/her clan. Te oender or the perpetrator is
known and accepts or takes responsibility or the
harm. His or her clan may also take responsibility
on his/her behal and thus also jointly contribute
to pay the compensation or harm caused by their
member. raditionally the process was consultative
and mediated by an approved clan mediator. Underthe practice oCulo Kwor, the Rwot Kwor (clan o-
cial responsible or compensation) was mandated
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
12/22Feinstein International Center10
to oversee the process to nality. All the aected
clans (usually only two) agree on the appropriate
traditional justice mechanisms, which was normally
compensation (Culo Kwor) as payment or the dead
and the perormance o reconciliatory rituals (Kayo
Cuk) to mark a resh start without any bitterness
and confict.
Tus, the underlying purpose o the practices o
Kayo Cukand Culo Kwor, which are noted and
most oten reerred to as Lango traditional jus-
tice mechanisms, were primarily used to restore
individual and community ties and relationship
ater cases o a grievous nature. Remedy is limited
to compensation and usually decided and agreed
upon by the clan regardless o the magnitude and
eects o the harms on the aected amily/house-
hold. Te practices were limited mainly to cases oharms involving two clans and where a perpetrator
is known and takes responsibility or the crime/
harm caused.
Other traditional justice mechanisms, rituals or
ceremonies practiced in Lango relating to dealing
with cases o a grievous nature include:
umo Kirr A practice to stop a bad omen rombealling a person, amily or community resulting
in physical or psychological harms due to the badbehaviour or breaking o a taboo by a membero the clan/amily. Such acts may include incest,
walking naked, among others.
Wetto Piior Onyo Pii Te practice o coolingor pouring water which is perormed to restorerelationships between two or more confictingpeople who wished each other bad ortune or didsomething evil to the other.
Gatto Cen or sending away the evil spirits A
ritual perormed to drive away evil spirits in orderto ensure normalcy in the person ater they com-mitted bad acts against someone or against highlyheld belies/values o the people.
Nyonno ong Gweno A practice whose nameliterally means stepping on an egg. Tis ritualis perormed when one had been away rom theamily/community over a long period o time,usually in unknown places such as in the case o
ormerly abducted persons.32 Beore re-enteringthe amily compound or house, the returning
person is made to step on an egg with one ootand the other egg with the other oot and latercleanse with some herbs and rituals perormed on
him/her and in the house beore he/she is allowed
to enter.33 Tis practice is intended to cleanse theperson o all evil spirits or bad omens that couldbeall him/her such as sicknesses, etc. in case he/she committed some bad acts while they were
away rom the amily.34
As described above, the practices o justice within
Lango traditional justice mechanisms are gearedmore towards accountability, reconciliation and
cleansing, rather than punitive measures.
III. Response by Lango raditionalJustice Mechanisms
Te serious crimes and violations that people were
subjected to by parties to the GoU/LRA confict
were numerous, multiple and recurring. Tesecrimes and violations are well documented, well
known to those who ollow Uganda, and have been
the subject o dozens o reports and studies. A large
scale, multi-year study by OHCHR, Uganda and
the Uganda Human Rights Commission (2012)
recently ound that:
Civilian populations suered serious violationsat the hands o both the LRA and the UgandaPeoples Deense Force (UPDF) . . . including
killing, torture or cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment, abduction, slavery, orced marriage,orced recruitment, mutilation, sexual violence,serious psychological harm, orced displacement,and pillaging, looting and destruction o prop-erty. Attacks that resulted in these violations weregenerally indiscriminate, showing no respect or
traditional or international legal norms.35
Tis section explores the ability or Lango tradi-
tional and local justice mechanisms to respond to
serious crimes committed and harms suered as aresult o GoU/LRA hostilities.
Te Local Council Courts Act Section 10 denes
the Local Council legal jurisdiction:
(1) Subject to the provisions o this Act and o anyother written law, every local council Courtshall have jurisdiction or the trial and determi-nation o
(a) causes and matters o a civil nature specied
in the Second Schedule to this Act;
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
13/22Modern Challenges to raditional Justice 11
(b) causes and matters o a civil nature gov-erned only by customary law specied inthe Tird Schedule;
(c) causes and matters arising out o inringe-ment o bye-laws and Ordinances dulymade under the Local Governments Act;
(d) matters specied under the Children Act;
(e) matters relating to land.
(2) In any suit relating to causes and matters speci-ed in the Second and Tird Schedules
(a) the jurisdiction o the local council courtshall, in respect o causes and matters speci-ed in the Second Schedule be restricted tocauses and matters where the value o thesubject matter in dispute does not exceedone hundred currency points;
(b) the jurisdiction o the court in respect ocauses and matters specied in the TirdSchedule shall not be restricted by the mon-etary value o the subject matter in dispute;
(3) In any suit relating to causes and matters speci-ed in the Second Schedule and in the TirdSchedule, where the court awards compensa-tion exceeding twenty ve currency points, thecourt shall reer the case to the Chie Magis-trate o the area or the purposes o executiono the order and the Chie Magistrate may,
i he or she nds that the judgment award isgrossly excessive; reduce the amount o theaward taking into account awards in similar
cases.36
As noted above, the Local Council Courts Act o
2006 prohibits local councils rom handling any
cases o criminal nature that involve crimes o a
violent nature. Any cases o criminal nature that
are brought beore LCs or traditional leaders are
expected to be reerred to a competent body withthe jurisdiction to handle such cases. I LCs and
traditional leaders were to go ahead to attempt to
handle such cases, then they would be in contra-
vention o the existing provision.
During our research, we were repeatedly told by in-
ormants in Lango that people are not reerring any
cases o serious crimes and violations committed by
parties to the confict to traditional justice mecha-
nisms within their clans or redress and remedy.
Te LCF are the custodians o the Lango tradition-
al justice system. Members o LCF we interviewed
said that any cases related to the confict that they
handled were mainly to do with reintegration needs
o ormerly abducted persons and land disputes as a
result o displacement during the confict (the latter
which comprised the vast majority o cases brought
beore the LCF).37
LCF inormants noted that ater sta rom theInternational Criminal Court brieed them on the
work o the Court, at one point, they tried to regis-
ter cases o serious crimes and violations committed
during the confict in Lango sub-region. Tey were
not able to proceed since they did not know how
to handle the issues related to required evidence.
Te LCF said that a handul o people did come
orward to register cases o alleged serious crimes
and violations, but most only had verbal accounts
and did not produce evidence such as photographs,medical reports, police reports, and LC 1 letters to
reinorce their verbal claims. Te combination o
the LCFs own lack o clarity on what to do with
the cases and the lack o documented evidence
rendered it extremely hard or traditional leaders to
register any o the cases. As a result, the LCF has
not been able to go orward to reer to the criminal
justice system cases related to serious crimes and
violations committed by parties to the LRA/GoU
confict.
We also interviewed victims, victims groups and
clan leaders on their use o traditional justice
mechanisms in order to seek remedy and redress
or serious crimes and violations by parties to the
confict and the resulting harms in our eld sites,
villages in Ogur and Okwang sub-counties. Very
ew people we interviewed in these sites reported
that they had brought any case beore traditional
justice mechanisms regarding serious crimes orviolations they suered as a result o the GoU/
LRA confict. O the ew who did bring orward
a case, all mentioned that they reerred cases with
their traditional leaders at the lower level only to
report the violations experienced and not to seek
or any orm o remedy or the crimes or viola-
tions suered.
Almost all clan leaders we interviewed acknowl-
edged that they have some records o cases o seri-ous crimes and violations suered by their mem-
bers during the confict. Te records that do exist
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
14/22Feinstein International Center12
are primarily on deaths, abductions and persons
seriously wounded. Tis was especially the case
or sites o large-scale violence as occurred during
the massacre o hundreds o people at Barlonyo.
raditional leaders, local leaders and victims noted
that there is nothing that has been done with the
records in terms o taking any measures to address
the crimes and violations suered.
At other sites where we carried out interviews in
which the crimes and violations were more isolated
and prevalence was lower, traditional leaders said
there were no existing records o reported cases.
Te community members who reported cases with
their traditional leaders did so to obtain letters o
recommendation or acknowledgement to bring the
case orward to higher level governmental authori-
ties, particularly at the district level. Most respon-
dents mentioned receiving such letters, especially
rom their LC I (and not traditional leaders), who
are the lowest level o government representation
at the village level. Te letters served to introduce
them as residents o the areas under the particu-
lar LC I and are normally intended to help the
victim seek immediate assistance, such as medical
assistance rom NGOs. Other needs that victims
sought letters or, again rom their LC 1, were oreducation o war orphans and ormerly abducted
children, and or widows o the confict acing land
disputes.
IV. Victims and the Langoraditional Justice Systems
In this section o the report, we examine and ex-
plore victims and victims groups knowledge o the
role o traditional justice mechanisms in addressing
serious crimes and violations committed during the
confict and the resulting harms.
Tere exists very little knowledge among victims
and victims communities about the role o tra-
ditional justice mechanisms in addressing serious
crimes and violations and their eects. Very ew
people knew that theJuba Peace Agreementenvi-
sioned such a role or traditional leaders and justice
mechanisms in Lango. As a result, ew people haveseen the use in reporting any cases o serious crimes
committed during the confict and their resulting
eects to traditional leaders. O those who have
reported, they said the purpose was to make sure
that traditional leaders and local leaders such as LC
I have records o such cases that happened in their
jurisdiction during the confict, while in other cases
victims sought letters o recommendations rom
these leaders to reer their cases orward to NGOs
or assistance to try and deal with the eects o thecrimes and violations.
Te ew people who reported that they had knowl-
edge about the role o traditional leaders in deal-
ing with cases o serious crimes mainly heard the
inormation via radio programs that were broadcast
during the Juba Peace Process. Even those respon-
dents with some knowledge o the role o tradi-
tional justice mechanisms to address serious crimes
and their eects said that they thought this waslimited to traditional justice mechanisms in Acholi
sub-region, and did not apply to the entire Greater
North. Tese respondents did not know that tradi-
tional justice mechanisms in Lango were included
in the provision and that Langi traditional justice
mechanisms were envisioned to be able to deal with
such cases and their atermath.
Limitations on the Capacity ofraditional Justice Mechanisms
From our studys ndings, it is clear that traditional
justice mechanisms in Lango are not in any way
handling crimes committed during the GoU/LRA
confict and their harmul eects, as envisioned in
theJuba Peace Agreementunder theAgreement on
Accountability and Reconciliation and itsAnnexure.
Our study ound that there are ve main actors
that explain this reality.
1. Politicization and Centralization oraditional Justice Mechanisms
raditionally Lango did not have any central tribal
authority. However, on occasions when the Langis
needed to act in concert i.e., to ght o a com-
mon enemy they elected a Won Nyaci (Para-
mount Chie) to unite them or a discrete time
and purpose.38 oday the oce o the Won Nyaci
is a permanent one. It was rst ormalized dur-ing the British colonial administration, and later
revitalized by the NRM government, as part o a
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
15/22Modern Challenges to raditional Justice 13
policy to restore traditional leaders in most parts
o Uganda, while limiting them to their cultural
roles.39 Because the Won Nyaci is a recent innova-
tion, and one promoted by a central government
that many Langis view with some suspicion, it is
not surprising that traditional authority in Lango
resides not with the paramount chie, but with the
clans and local chies. Indeed, this research suggest-ed a disconnect between the Won Nyaci and local
leaders.40 Local people in the community that were
interviewed said that the oce o the Won Nyaci is
rarely in contact with lower level traditional leaders
in the community. Others said bluntly, We have
never seen the Won Nyaci, he has never been here
and we know little about him and the work he
does. 41 However, that is not to say that local lead-
ers are necessarily viewed more generously. Someo the respondents said the same is true or their
Owitong, who are viewed as oreign to local people
and without an understanding o what people
experienced during the confict. Some respondents
said that local leaders only were elected because o
their status, wealth, and education. Some o the
Owitong are reported to live in the capital city
ar rom the sites o violence and thus are viewed
as having no capacity to appreciate and understand
what happened to people during hostilities.
In spite o the perceived shortcomings o the Won
Nyaci, and o some o the Owitong, many long
or a rejuvenation o traditional institutions. It has
been suggested that i the Won Nyaci could act to
uniy the Owitong and pursue a goal o advancing
traditional practices and rebuilding communities,
then the oce might do a great deal or re-energiz-
ing Langi culture.
2. Lack o Skills, Capacities andResources
Most respondents, including lower level traditional
leaders, reported that traditional leaders do not
have the competence, skills, capacity and resources
to handle cases o serious crimes committed during
the GoU/LRA confict and their resulting harms.
Te reasons or this are several.
First, Lango traditional justice practices are passedthrough oral knowledge and the perormance
o such ceremonies and practices is the work o
specialists within the clan. raditionally, these
people would be old men or women with vast
cultural knowledge or clan lineage heads.42 How-
ever, due to the war, impoverishment and squalid
living conditions in IDP camps, many o these
older people who were central to traditional justice
practices died, and as a result local knowledge and
resources to perorm these roles have diminishedin most rural communities in Lango. Tus, there
is a generational gap, with the younger generation
having little knowledge o local traditional justice
mechanisms, which combined with the infuences
o westernization, Christianity and modernization,
makes them even less likely to seek such measures.
Second, cases o serious crimes and their resulting
harms are subject to provisions within international
and national law, which traditional leaders saidthey have little to no understanding o, rendering
them incompetent to handle such cases even i
they were brought to their attention. Furthermore,
traditional leaders were noted as still using more
archaic methods to resolve conficts among clan
members which do not match national or interna-
tional human rights standards, such as extensive
beatings o those ound guilty.
Tird, the limitation in skills, competence andknowledge is largely attributed to traditional lead-
ers low level o education, especially among lower
level traditional leaders in the communities. A ew
Owitong are reported to be highly educated, but
most o them remain distant rom the actual victims
within their jurisdiction.43 Te selection process
to become a traditional leader does not put much
emphasis on ormal education; rather the ocus is
on local understanding and knowledge o clan his-
tory and culture. Te candidates age, gender andsometimes their position in the community also
actor strongly into being selected as a traditional
leader. Normally, older males and those regarded as
powerul (i.e., with resources to support clan work)
stand the greatest chance o being elected. Most
existing traditional leaders, especially at the lower
levels where most o the crimes were experienced
during the war, eel incapable to deal with such
cases because they see these cases as outside o theirlegitimate jurisdiction and knowledge base.
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
16/22Feinstein International Center14
Fourth, some respondents mentioned that they eel
less inclined to report any cases o serious crimes
and their eects to the traditional leaders because
most o the leaders at the lower level are them-
selves a part o the community that was ravaged
by war. Tey too lost their children, wie, parents,
and property or were equally violated during the
war and also require someone to listen to them toprovide remedy and redress or what they suered
during the confict.44 Victims view traditional lead-
ers as lacking any additional means or capacity to
deal with the serious crimes and their atermath.
In other cases, some o the traditional leaders are
said to be so busy with their own rebuilding and
activities that they have no time to give to wider
community needs. o illustrate, some respondents
mentioned that no meeting has been called by theirtraditional leaders since they returned rom the
IDP camps to their traditional lands to either dis-
cuss issues related to the serious crimes committed
and harms suered during the confict or to address
wider community development concerns.
Fith, the involvement o traditional leaders is ur-
ther said to be complicated when it comes to pro-
viding reparation to victims o the confict. People
expect that i traditional leaders are to handle caseso serious crimes committed during the war and
their eects, then they and/or the accused and
their clan should be able to provide reparation in
the orm o compensation. Yet most respondents
acknowledge that this is impossible because o pov-
erty. However, victims maintain that eective and
prompt reparation remains important to help them
deal with the eects o the crimes and harms they
suered due to the confict.
Sixth, traditional justice mechanisms are at times
viewed by respondents as raught with ineciencies
due to corruption, biases, nepotism, and segrega-
tion. A case in point is where respondents noted
that some traditional leaders are mandated by the
people to provide inormation to access assistance,
such as educational support or those children ab-
ducted and abused during the confict. Yet a num-
ber o inormants alleged that traditional leaders
oten orward only the names o their own childrenand those o other close relatives, even i those chil-
dren did not suer the requisite crimes to qualiy
them or the assistance. Some traditional leaders
were also accused o avouring some individuals/
groups o victims over another depending on their
age, gender, status, infuence and resources. Most
oten in these cases, respondents alleged, actual
beneciaries or victims who should qualiy have
oten been let out, raising doubts on the credibility
o the traditional justice mechanisms to oer airand impartial treatment to all victims who would
come orward to seek redress and remedy rom the
system. In such cases, women and people who are
marginalized such as widows, children, orphans
and people o low social status tend to bear the
brunt o the discrimination and exclusion. Tus,
even i traditional justice systems have the capac-
ity, skills and resources to handle cases, they may
not necessarily provide the much-needed justiceand accountability that victims want and deserve.
Any support to increase their capacity to provide
remedy and reparation should keep this in mind.
3. No Codifed raditionalJustice Measures
Te lack o codied procedures to handle cases o
serious crimes and harms makes claims or redress
and remedy almost impossible or victims who may
wish to bring orward a claim.
In Lango, as noted earlier, most o the traditional
system is centred on the clan system and not the
paramount chie. Consequently, there is no central-
ized or generally codied traditional justice system
that people can use in the dierent clans across
Lango. What exists is oral knowledge known at di-
erent clan levels. Notably, there are eorts by the
LCF, Lango Cultural Heritage Project and other
NGOs/CSOs to build up a harmonized accounto the traditional practices o the Langi, but this is
still in the works and ar rom complete.45
4. Gender and Lango raditionalJustice Mechanisms
While we have highlighted key gender aspects
throughout the report, in this section we ocus on
the most important ndings related to gender in
the study. Victims o serious crimes and violations
oten hesitate to bring cases to authorities they do
not trust. Women respondents in particular men-
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
17/22Modern Challenges to raditional Justice 15
tioned that most traditional justice mechanisms are
biased, avouring men. For example, one woman
victim we spoke with said, Tey delay to attend
to me, maybe because I am a woman. Usually they
are aster to listen to men than women.46 Women
reported that traditional justice systems did not
accord them a air hearing or air treatment. Tey
said that their traditional justice systems were notsupportive o women who claimed to have been
harmed and who sought justice. Women com-
plained that the traditional leaders tend to avour
men whenever amily cases are brought beore
them. Tey consider men as more kin being their
brothers and relatives and they always buy beer/
alcohol or them thus compromising their ability
to remain air when handling such cases. When
women reer cases, they claim they are not giventhe same audience as men. o deter them rom
reerring cases, women are heavily ned i the case
is not ound in their avour, so oten they just give
up. Single mothers specically noted that it is even
more complicated or them to go through the sys-
tem that is oriented to patriarchy and the privilege
o men.
One o the biggest challenges acing people return-
ing rom IDP camps to their traditional lands is
conficts over land boundaries and ownership. Our
respondents noted that some traditional leaders are
conniving and participate in grabbing land rom
widows and orphans in the community. As a result,
many women we spoke with expressed little hope
that the traditional justice system would work or
issues o accountability and reconciliation in their
cases.
Violations and crimes o a sexual nature against
emales and males by parties to the confict carryheavy stigma, making such cases dicult i not
impossible to bring orward in the present set-
ting o most Lango traditional justice systems.
Normally, the hearing o cases occurs in the open,
oten under a tree, with no protection or privacy
or victims to come orward. Te traditional leaders
who comprise the body to hear the case are com-
prised o old men and, i one is lucky, a ew old
women as well. Tese elders tend to have no ormalpreparation, and shallow experience, or working in
a sensitive manner with victims o sexual violence.
Consequently, many respondents were sceptical o
the relevance and credibility o traditional justice
mechanisms to address these highly delicate cases.
5. Limitations on Holding StateActors Accountable
Provisions under theJuba Peace Agreementprohibit
bringing to account state actors alleged to have
committed serious human rights violations beore
traditional justice systems or the newly created
International Crimes Division o Ugandas High
Court stating: state actors shall be subjected to
existing criminal justice processes and not to special
justice processes under this agreement.47 Victims
o alleged violence at the hands o state ocials
may thereore (in theory) seek accountability,
redress and remedy through the national court sys-tem, while those alleging violence by the UPDF or
their associated militia are expected to bring their
cases beore the UPDF Military Courts. Te mili-
tary court, in particular, seems dicult or civilian
victims to access. Victims appear unclear about
how civilians can press cases in a military court
and i they did, they doubt the courts rigor and
objectivity, especially regarding cases o violence
allegedly perpetrated during the war, including
sexual violence. Furthermore, the military courtsare viewed by local civilians to lack transparency.
Tey are viewed as not readily accessible to civilians
and many civilians who have tried to use them to
seek justice report a climate o non-responsiveness,
hostility, intimidation and impunity or alleged
perpetrators.
V. Conclusion
Victims have a clearly established right to remedy
and reparation or serious violations o interna-
tional human rights law and international humani-
tarian law. Remedy encompasses the right to: equal
and eective access to justice; adequate, eective
and prompt reparation or harm suered; access
to relevant inormation concerning violations and
reparation mechanisms; and access to air and im-
partial proceedings. Reparation is a part o remedy.
Reparation has ve components: (1) restitution(seeking insoar as possible to restore victims to
their original state prior to the violations, including
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
18/22Feinstein International Center16
ing cases o serious crimes committed by parties to
the confict and their resulting harms, how can the
present deciencies, gaps and challenges be ad-
dressed? And, perhaps more importantly, given that
it appears that the majority o victims seeking re-
dress and remedy were envisioned underJuba Peace
Agreementto use traditional justice mechanisms,
and we can see that in Lango this is unrealistic, andthe Amnesty Act has (seemingly) cut o the ormal
criminal courts as a site o justice or victims, what
avenues or real redress and remedy now exist or
victims?
I traditional justice mechanisms are to have any
meaningul impact on helping victims o the GoU/
LRA hostilities, and particularly victims o seri-
ous crimes to realize their rights to remedy and
reparation, eorts need to be made to determinewhat traditional justice systems can do based on
what they are actually capable o doing, not based
on what people wish they could do. Additionally,
serious consideration should be given to determine
i these systems are unable to provide remedy and
reparation, what systems will be put in place to en-
able victims o serious crimes to realize their rights
to redress under international and Ugandan law.
land restitution); (2) compensation or economi-
cally-assessable damage; (3) rehabilitation (ensuring
access to medical and psychological care and legal
and social services); (4) satisaction (measures such
as attested public disclosure o the acts around
disappearances, abductions and killings; identica-
tion and burial o the dead; and apologies rom and
sanctions against perpetrators); and (5) guaranteeso non-repetition.48
TeJuba Peace Agreement, under Agenda Item
Tree, conrms victims right to remedy and
reparation or victims o serious crimes and viola-
tions committed in the GoU/LRA confict. Te
idea under Agenda Item Tree was that traditional
justice mechanisms would play an important role
in partially helping victims o serious crimes and
violations realize their rights to remedy and repara-tion. However, our study o nds that currently,
traditional justice mechanisms in Lango sub-region
are unable to provide any remedy or reparation or
such victims, with an even more complicated situa-
tion or emale victims who suered gender-related
crimes such as sexual violence.
Te central questions thus remain, i traditional
justice mechanisms are to be eective in address-
Feinstein International Center
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
19/22Modern Challenges to raditional Justice 17
Endnotes
raditional Justice mechanisms, such as Culo Kwor, Mato1.Oput, Kayo Cuk, Ailuc and onu ci Koka and others arepractices in the communities aected by confict, shall bepromoted, with necessary modications, as a central parto the ramework or accountability and reconciliation.
Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation (Clause3.1).
2. Annexure to the Agreement on Accountability and Reconcili-ation (Clause 20).
Lango sub-region is made up o the districts o Alebtong,3.Amolatar, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Lira, Oyam and Otuke.
J.H. Driberg4. Te Lango: A Nilotic ribe o Uganda(Lon-don: Adelphi errace, 1923), 204.
5. Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation (Clause3.1) and itsAnnexurestates that traditional justice mecha-nisms such as Culo Kwor, Mato Oput, Kayo Cuk, Ailucand onu ci Koka and others a practiced in the com-
munities aected by the confict, shall be promoted, withnecessary modications, as a central part o the rameworkor accountability and reconciliation.
On 21 February 2004, the LRA attacked the camp at6.Barlonyo killing hundreds o people.
raditional Justice mechanisms, such as Culo Kwor, Mato7.Oput, Kayo Cuk, Ailuc and onu ci Koka and others arepractices in the communities aected by confict, shall bepromoted, with necessary modications, as a central part othe ramework or accountability and reconciliation.Agree-ment on Accountability and Reconciliation (Clause 3.1).
8. Annexure to the Agreement on Accountability and Reconcili-
ation (Clause 20).
Te bulk o northern Ugandas population is made up o9.either the Nilotes or the Para-Nilotes (also called Nilo-Hamites). Tere are a number o linguistic subdivisions
within each o the two groups. In northern Uganda theNilotic Southern Lwo includes the Alur, Acholi, and theKenyan Luo. Tey are now ully separate rom NorthernLwo o South Sudan, which include the Shilluk. Te Para-Nilotic peoples o Uganda include the Iteso, Karimojong,Dodos, Jie, and urkana. Proximity and cultural exchangemake it dicult to isolate traits specic to either theNilotic or Para-Nilotic peoples, but generally speakingthe Southern Lwo (Nilotic) social organization is basedon segmentary systems o descent groups, whereas thePara-Nilotes depend more on age or generation groups,and tend more to pastoralism than their Nilotic peers. Seeosh (1978).
Driberg (1923), 25.10.
John osh,11. Clan Leaders and Colonial Chies in Lango(Oxord: Clarendon Press, 1978), 2526.
Driberg (1923), 31.12.
osh (1978), 33.13.
Richard Curley,14. Elders, Shades, and Women (Berkeley:University o Caliornia Press, 1973), 19.
osh (1978), 22.15.
Driberg (1923), 204.16.
osh (1978), Cherry Gertzel,17. Party and Locality inNorthern Uganda, 19451962(London: Athlone Press,University o London, 1974).
See International Crisis Group (ICG) Arica Report No.18.187, Uganda: No Resolution to the Growing ensions(Nai-robi, 5 April 2012), 8.
Ministry o Gender Labour and Social Development19.(MoGLSD), Te Uganda National Culture Policy(Kam-pala, December 2006)
International Crisis Group (ICG), 8.20.
See the structure o Lango Cultural Foundation.21.
Driberg (1923), 204.22.
Tere is one emale representation in the cabinet o LCF23.and she is the current Minister or Education.
In the past, in case o murder o one member o the clan,24.the victims clan would revenge by committing anotherkilling in the oending clan. Over time, the practice
changed to a situation where a killing/murder wasrevenged/compensated by abducting a young lady (nearpuberty) rom the oending clan with the hope that she
would produce a boy to replace the one who was killed.See Concerned Parents Association in conjunction withLango Cultural Foundation,A Book on Lango raditional
Justice Mechanisms(Kampala, 2008), 15. See also theMoGLSD, Te Uganda Culture Policy(Kampala, 2006), 6.
Concerned Parents Association in conjunction with Lango25.Cultural Foundation, 2.
Concerned Parents Association in conjunction with Lango26.Cultural Foundation, 8.
Driberg (1923), 208.27.
Nearly a century ago, Driberg (1923) observed similar28.processes o compensation and reconciliation. He sug-gested that blood payments were likely adopted to avoidthe drawn-out confict that would ensue i amends werenot quickly made. He wrote: Originally, killing, whetheraccidental or deliberate, immediate or protracted, wasconsidered an act o war and not o arbitrament, and therelatives o the deceased would raid the murderers village,taking blood or blood and as much more as they could.Frequently a eud o this nature would last several genera-tions, and many years might elapse beore vengeance istake or want o a good opportunity. It is not clear whenor how the custom o making a blood payment origi-nated, but it is very ancient, and probably arose rom themurderers amily with the intention o staving o a raid(210).
Concerned Parents Association in conjunction with Lango29.Cultural Foundation, 1213.
When the dead person is a child, compensation may be30.lower. In the case o death o a person o low social statusin the community, the compensation is normally lesstoo. In the case or the death o a woman where marriage
was not concluded, the clan o the husband may only bedemanded to complete marrying the dead woman (i.e.,paying the amily the ull bride price). Concerned Parents
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
20/22Feinstein International Center18
Association in conjunction with Lango Cultural Founda-tion, 1516.
Concerned Parents Association in conjunction with Lango31.Cultural Foundation, 16.
Concerned Parents Association in conjunction with Lango32.Cultural Foundation, 1825.
Concerned Parents Association in conjunction with Lango33.Cultural Foundation, 25.
Concerned Parents Association in conjunction with Lango34.Cultural Foundation, 1825.
United Nations Oce o the High Commissioner or35.Human Rights (UN OHCHR), Uganda and the UgandanHuman Rights Commission (UHRC), Te Dust Has NotYet Settled: Victims Views on Remedy and Reparation inthe Greater North, Uganda(Geneva and Kampala, 2011).
Available at http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Press/Web-Stories/DustHasNotYetSettled.pd
See36. Te Local Council Courts Act, 2006(Kampala, 2006),8. Under Schedule One oTe Local Council Courts Act,
2006a currency point is equivalent to twenty thousandshillings (Te Local Council Courts Act, 2006, 20). UnderSchedule wo oTe Local Council Courts Act, 2006(p.21); cases and matters o a civil nature which may be tri-able by Local Council Courts are (1) debts, (2) contracts,(3) assaults or assault and battery, (4) conversion, (5) dam-age to property and (6) trespass. Under Schedule Tree oTe Local Council Courts Act, 2006(p. 22); Civil Disputesgoverned by Customary Law, triable by Local CouncilCourts are; (1) disputes in respect o land held under cus-tomary tenure; (2) disputes concerning marriage, maritalstatus, separation, divorce or the parentage o children; (3)
disputes relating to the identity o a customary heir; and(4) customary bailment.
Te LCF is collaborating with government organs such37.as Local Councils at all levels, the Local Council TreeCourts and in some cases with the ormal courts to handleland related cases as a result o escalating land disputes inmost rural community ater the war. In handling land cas-es, the traditional justice mechanisms are oten aced withthe challenges o corruption, bribery, biases among othersor some cases are too complex or the mechanisms to deal
with thus the LCF reers them to ormal mechanisms.
Driberg (1923), 204.38.
International Crisis Group.39.
Tis disconnect is urther borne out by unding. In con-40.trast to other traditional institutions in Uganda, the WonNyacis budget is supported not by local (i.e., Langi) con-tributions, but by the central government. Consequently,the Won Nyaci is seen as a servant o the President, not ohis own people.
Field interview with the LC I Committee (7 members; 241.emales and ve makes) Oyiramyem Village, Okwang SubCounty, 14 July 2009. See also eld interview with the LCIII Chairperson o Okwang Sub County, 15 July 2009.
Concerned Parents Association in conjunction with Lango42.Cultural Foundation, 19.
Respondents mentioned that most Owitong (clan leaders/43.heads) who are well educated or relatively well placed livevery ar away rom them, some stay in the Capital in Kam-pala with little to no understanding o what their subjectsencountered during the war. Some victims mentioned
that the act that some o their traditional leaders neverexperienced the war with them renders them incompetentto handle the cases o grave crimes which they experi-enced. Te lower level clan leaders who live with them inthe villages also are not able to handle the cases or manyactors already noted, even though they lived with theircommunities during the war.
Field Interview in Barlonyo village, 11 April 2009.44.
Te clan used to handle cases o grave nature such as45.those o un-wilul killings especially within the clan andsometimes between two clans and the perpetuator
would be known and not more complex cases as those
witnessed during the LRA/GoU where the perpetuatorsare unknown.
Field Interview in Barlonyo Village, emale victim, 6 April46.2009.
47. Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation (Clause4.1).
48. Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedyand Reparation or Victims o serious Violations o Interna-tional Human Rights Law and International HumanitarianLaw,A/RES/60/147.
Feinstein International Center
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
21/22
-
7/28/2019 Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice: The Struggle to Deliver Remedy and Reparation in War-Affected Lango
22/22
Feinstein International Center
Tufts University
114 Curtis Street
Somerville, MA 02144
USAtel: +1 617.627.3423
fax: +1 617.627.3428