(Kitgum) – Six soldiers of the National Resistance Army (NRA) were caught red handed posing as rebels from the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in a story straight out of a Ugandan drama series. Apparently, in Kitgum District, these men were not just dressing up for Halloween – they had left a trail of terror, brutality, and very confusing stories. Imagine thinking you are dealing with Joseph Kony’s ruthless LRA rebels, only to discover you are being robbed by people who should be protecting you.
The Bizarre ‘Mission’ That Nobody Really Understands
On August 5, 1994, Local Defense Units (LDUs) nabbed this rogue group of NRA soldiers who had been unleashing chaos on Pabwor Parish, Atanga Division. Dressed in goat skins and rags like they were auditioning for a village drama festival, these men had been ordered to go on a “mission” by some shadowy NRA commander, who has remained conveniently nameless.
The truth of the matter is, we may never know what their mission was. The soldiers were promptly thrown into Kitgum Prison to await trial, either in a military or civil court, depending on which was more forgiving of rogue soldiers caught pretending to be rebels.
Before their dramatic arrest, these NRA soldiers were allegedly engaging in all sorts of criminal activities that, frankly, were more associated with the LRA than the very people supposed to be fighting them. Reports of villagers having their legs hacked off with axes, homes raided for everything from dresses to groundnuts, and even young girls being demanded for ‘sleepovers’ had painted a terrifying picture. If you thought the only thing soldiers wore in battle were uniforms, think again. Goat skins were apparently the latest fashion trend in Pabwor Parish.
According to witnesses, these soldiers were not shy about helping themselves to whatever they could find, including soap, money, and medicines. In Uganda, where every penny counts and bars of soap are almost a sacred commodity, this was no laughing matter. The bicycles, the original Ugandan ‘Rolls-Royce’ were the crown jewel for heist . It is one thing to rob someone, but quite another to make them walk home afterward!
| Item Stolen | Victim | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Bicycle and Money | Ceaser Omona | Intercepted at Kona Jobi Ward while riding his ‘Rolls-Royce.’ |
| Household Items, Cash | Tony Opwa | Dresses, groundnuts, and medicines all vanished from his home. |
| White Chickens & Animals | Several Families | Believed to be fighting ‘evil powers’ with their culinary skills. |
Suspicion on the Gulu-Kampala Highway
It was not just Kitgum where things were going sideways. Passengers on a bus traveling the Gulu-Kampala highway were ambushed near Karuma Bridge on August 24, 1994. However, instead of LRA rebels, the passengers couldn’t help but notice a few peculiar things, like how their attackers spoke broken Luo (so bad even a Kampala taxi conductor wouldn’t approve) and Kiswahili, which led some to conclude that these men were not, in fact, rebels.
What’s more, the bus was attacked only 500 meters from an NRA roadblock, a detail that had passengers raising eyebrows higher than a boda-boda fare hike during rush hour. Were the NRA soldiers at the roadblock just playing innocent, or had they truly taken a detour to conveniently miss the bus ambush? Passengers found the soldiers sweating, which in Uganda could either mean you have just run a marathon or you have been up to something shady.
The Smoking Guns (Literally)
As if the situation wasn’t strange enough, the six NRA soldiers arrested in Pabwor were caught armed and dangerous. Corporal Alex Ojera, one of the culprits, was packing a rifle.
Captured alongside Cpl Ojera were his accomplices Private Charles Olanya and another soldier hailing from Latanya in Acholibur Division. Some of the southern origin soldiers in the gang managed to escape before the LDUs could pounce, but we can assume they quickly blended back into the scenery, swapping out their goat skins for more “civilian” attire. Hopefully, not with a sack of stolen groundnuts still in hand.
| Suspected Crime | Details |
|---|---|
| Bus Ambush Near Karuma Bridge | Passengers robbed, beaten, and left in shock. |
| Roadblock Suspicion | Soldiers appeared at roadblock after ambush, sweating. |
The Fallout and Panic
When the LDUs paraded the captured soldiers through Pabwor village, panic spread faster than gossip at a Sunday church service. The villagers initially mistook the arrested soldiers for LRA rebels, leading to a stampede. It was a classic case of “muliro gwa maanyi” – a fire that spreads with no control. Given that the LRA had recently intensified their attacks thanks to fresh supplies from Sudan, it is no wonder the villagers fled like their lives depended on it.
The arrest of these rogue NRA soldiers added fuel to the already fiery suspicion that some NRA soldiers were moonlighting as rebels. Could this have been a side hustle gone wrong? We will never know for sure, but what we do know is that it is a story of betrayal, robbery, and very poor acting.
