Museveni honors chief bodyguard’s dad for brokering peace during Kony war

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President Yoweri Museveni has said that the peace enjoyed by Ugandans cannot be disturbed by anyone following the great sacrifices made by the people of Uganda.

Speaking at the memorial mass of the late Prince Bernard Richard Olanya Lagony, the father to his Aide -de- Camp, Maj.Koch at Bunga Raa village, Koch Goma sub county, in Nwoya district on Friday, Museveni said that a lot of blood was shed for Northern Uganda to achieve peace that its enjoying now.

“We are here to remember the sacrifice of a teacher who was killed in a cowardly way when he was working for peace. When negotiating peace, it is in bad faith for any of the two parties to eliminate envoys of either group,”Museveni said.

During the LRA insurgency, government formed a peace team led by the then Minister for Northern Uganda Pacification, Betty Bigombe with Prince Lagony and Okot Ogony as part of the team.

The latter were abducted on June 10, 1996 in Pagik village, Cwero Sub-county in Nwoya district by Kony rebels with whom they had gone to broker the peace deal.

Kony allegedly ordered for the killing of the two elders, who were part of the Council of Elders Peace Committee on suspicion that they were making money out of the peace process.

Prince Lagony, a primary school teacher, was also a brother to one of the top rebel commanders Brigadier Otti Lagony.

Museveni narrated that while in the bush in 1984, UPC,a party that was in power at the time sent Sam Katabalwa, a National Resistance Army contact in Nairobi to tell him(Museveni) that the government wanted to have peace talks adding that Katabalwa was later killed on return to Kampala.

Museveni said it was an act of betrayal for Kony to kill the peace emissaries just like Katabalwa was done by the Uganda People’s Congress government in 1984 adding that the deceased left behind relatives and friends to avenge for their death.

On development, he noted that all was well after the end of the war in Northern Uganda.

“When we restored peace, government promised to work on a number of roads in the area and many have since been worked on,” he said.

Museveni said government was working hard to extend electricity to the district but urged locals to adopt commercial farming so as to create wealth and also improve livelihoods on top of ensuring food security.

The function was also attended by the Deputy Chief Justice Dollo Owiny, Deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanyah, NRM Deputy Secretary General Richard Todwong, Rwot of Acholi,Gulu Diocese Archbishop John Baptist Odama and the Minister for Disaster Preparedness Hillary Onek .

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