92,634 War Victims Seek African Union Intervention Over Delayed Compensation

What the report says

Dokolo Post reports that Moses Ogwang Adonyo, chief executive of the Greater North United War Debt Claimants Association Uganda, has asked the African Union to intervene in a long-running compensation dispute involving war victims in Northern and Eastern Uganda. Speaking on Wednesday at Pacific Grand Hotel in Lira City after attending an AU ECOSOCC Citizens Forum in Addis Ababa, Adonyo said more than 92,634 verified claimants are still waiting for reparations linked to losses suffered during the 1986–2008 conflict.

According to the report, the association says a High Court decision ordered government compensation for lost property, livestock and livelihoods, and that no appeal was filed, but the order has allegedly not been carried out. The group argues that broad household support programmes should not replace individual payments ordered by court, saying this weakens victims’ right to an effective legal remedy.

Adonyo said he used the AU forum to raise the issue with officials including African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights Registrar Dr. Robert Eno, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and ECOSOCC Secretariat representatives. Discussions, as described by Adonyo, also covered wider concerns about enforcement of African Court decisions and possible reforms to strengthen compliance by member states.

Dokolo Post says Adonyo expects an East African team, with participants from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Nigeria, to meet in coming weeks to draft proposed amendments to African Court legal instruments before wider regional consultations. The association has also petitioned the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, saying it has exhausted domestic avenues.