UGANDA: THE ACHOLI YOUTHS (AGUU) DURING FUNIERAL RIFE ROBBS MOURNERS AND WRECK AVOCK TO COMMUNITY.

The post Lord’s Resistance Army {LRA} conflict in Northern Uganda, developed to a new wave of youths that have become outlaw, turning to vandalism.  Breaking people’s houses and robbing the community.

Those children whose parents leaved them at home and lives normal lives like other children in other countries have turned to social evil joining other urban youths to waylay people and women grape peoples beg, those tugs move in groups of twenty, or in hundreds in the night while controlling streets while collaborating with security parents who used them and later shared their loot.

UGANDA-FRIDAY, February 17, 2023. Fear and anguish take tolls across Acholi Sub Region as night falls in every funeral rite including public function as swamps of erratic “Aguu” youths move from every homestead to take charge of deserted bereaved families after burial of loved ones.

The Luo community in Northern Uganda have been peace makers, respect one another and unity among themselves were the distinctive feature among Acholi and Lango communities in northern Uganda before they were forced into concentration camp known as International Displaced People Camps (IDPs), that was the culture norms which was adore by the Luo community and exacerbated during public gathering and also during funeral rites. But now turned upside down particularly by orchestrated by Museveni led regime planned, according to Prof. Dr. John Olara Otunnu when he described northern Uganda as planned genocide.

“When you want to destroy particular ethnicity you targeted their cultural norms, believes, languages, food. And that what president Museveni did when he forcefully took Acholi community, over two million in what analyst called the Nazi concentration camps.” Dr. Otunnu said.

Uganda Police Crime rates report 2022.

In 2022, there was an 18% increase in the volume of crimes reported to Police from 196,081 cases registered.
in 2021 to 231,653 cases. Out of the total cases reported to the Police countrywide, 68,405 cases were taken.
to Court, 26,749 cases were not proceeded with, while 136,499 cases are still under inquiry. Out of the cases
taken to Court, 10,648 secured convictions, 38 cases were acquitted, 213 cases were dismissed while 57,508.
cases are still pending in Court.
Resulting out of the total cases reported to Police, 90,182 suspects (i.e., 83,112 Male Adults, 4,579 Female
Adults, 2,175 Male Juveniles and 316 Female Juveniles) were arrested and charged to Court. Out of whom,
14,908 (13,622 male Adult, 755 Female Adult, 471 Male Juveniles, 60 Female Juveniles) were convicted
and sentenced to serve in various prisons countrywide for the offences they committed, while 73,074 suspects
were still awaiting trial by Courts of Law. In 2022, a grand total of 239,988 persons (140,861 Male Adults,
61,850 Female Adults, 11,234 Male Juveniles, 26,043 Female Juveniles) were victims of crimes as shown above.

Kinyera Lakoch, the Councilor 3 who double as the Speaker of Odek Sub County Local Councilor, had no kind words in many jamborees, his pleas are always to alert the community about the dangerous that may befall them, if they do not take care of youths the so called Aguu phenomena has become a new sign of bandit.
On January 17, 2023. There was a burial of a renounced woman Min Anywar M. Odia of Palarao Obuu, Agwengtina village, Min Anywar 90 years old, gather thousands of mourners who turned up to celebrate her life, according to the family member who spokes on behalf of the family says, she was a women leader of Acholi traditional cultural dance called Apiti and Acut designated for women.
Revelation was made during the memorial mass celebration by the Catholic Preach of the Odek Catholic mission, the black Star News asked Kinyera Lakoch why the Acholi Community are up in harm on Youth nicknamed Aguu?

Kinyera Lakoch, says we have real problems from our ground up children who have reached ages of 15 to 19 years old, they have turned to the rebellion.
Those children are our children, but the funny things when we leave them home, they also leave to join mourners during funeral rite, they begin to walk from their home and converse to where the funeral rite takes place.

From each homestead they will come one by one to funeral, especially when the disco music is the order of day.

Both girls and boys would be dancing, they will drink themselves silly, to the extent of raping even older women in regardless of their ages.

“When we talk about Aguu, the youths’ phenomena, don’t think that it does not include your sons or daughters you stay with and you have left behind, as we go back home from this bereaved family, we shall be meeting them on their way coming. And when they come, those youths shall play any image you think of. So, Aguu is the new image and culture of the new Acholi community of which we were not expecting.” Kinyera Lakoch lamented.

Adds, after the funeral “ When they are going back to their home, those youths will turn into monster, they will not spare any things they come across, if it happened that they chance on any shop, they will vandalize the shop, loot all the possessions, empty the shop, and when on their way back, should it by chance they cross or come to any sugar plantation, they will cut all the sugar cane, and if those youths Aguu come to the Cassava plantation, even if the Cassava have not mature, they will vandalize the garden, uproot Cassava steam and leave the garden empty. Kinyera lamented.

Douglas Okao Okello, the Chairman of Omoro District Councilor 5, had no kind language on Aguu, he called them lost sons and daughters, when he took to pulpit, he orders for their persecution, he instructed Uganda People’s Defense Forces UPDF to be on standby to deal with them, the Aguu.

“I am warning you parents, go back home and tell your children who have turned to be mayhem, to cause an atrocity during the public gathering and funeral function that today, will not be business as usual, I have known that this Aguu do not fear Uganda police Officers, but feared UPDF, we shall deploy them, Uganda army will be waiting to them, we shall not leave any stone an turn, you will get them from Gulu 4th UPDF Division.” The Omoro District Local Government Councilor warned.

Peter Banya, Gulu City Residence Commissioner for Pece-Laroo Davison, in 2021 and 2022 mounted crack down on Aguu, the urban youths called in Gulu City, in what is term as Panda Gari which used by the then Uganda dictator Idi Amin regime in the 1970s, Panda Gari called operation clean Gulu City.

Banya did not used UPDF uniform soldiers but used plain clothes military operatives that arrested on spot, on the first day about 500 youths were rounded up, they were smoked from Pece Division Te-Gwana ward, Layibi centre ward, Ayee village, Cubo village. While others were rounded up from Kirombe village in Layibi Division, Kanyagoga village, Kisubi village, ERIYA GAA village and Kabedo Opong village.

Those youths were paraded in Gulu Central Police Station, CPS, other were taken to Bar-dege Layibi where they were paraded in hundreds.
The Panda Gari rounds up was carried even in community residences and later those Aguu were remanded to Lugore prison, others have been taken to various government prisons in the country.

“We have done Panda Gari operation in Gulu City to sort out issues pertinent by Aguu, killing innocent person, robbing goods vandalism, the business of Aguu is to rob women waylaying at night in Gulu City, most of the ladies who fall victims are from Gulu Main Market place, some of them have lost their mobile phones, money and some even lost their lives in the hand of this Aguu.” Deputy RCS Banya narrates.

Those Aguu youths who were arrested during in the Panda Gari operation were taken to different prisons in the country, according to information available to Black Star News.

Morris Otim, who hail from Lapeta village, Bolo parish in December 2022 fell victims of Aguu too, Otim says in December 2022, the groups of youth commonly known Aguu attack them from their home in the wee hours of the night while they were enjoining their sleep, because some of his relatives came for holiday, and those Aguu was suspecting that the visitors had money and property. So, they came to have a field day. But it was on contrary.

“We were attacked by the Aguu in the night as we survived, so in the morning we went in revenge, we pursued them to their respective places and we managed to get one suspect, we zero on him, we beat the boy properly, and so the boy disclosed other tugs, we later we went to get all of them, and after the arrest we took them to Awere police Station where were interrogated and made confession of being Aguu. They even promised that they will never engage in burglary.” Otim narrates.
Otim, being the first victim of Aguu, first he was a victim of Aguu in December last year 2022. This year on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2023. Also, his phone was stolen by Aguu, but now in Gulu City.

Again, my phone was stolen by the group Aguu. I managed to trek up my phone when I realized soon after 20 munities that my phone was stolen. I have to use another phone I have left behind in the house to track the lost phone, I have reported the case to Odek Police Station, which also helped me to trace my phone, Gulu Police also assisted me arrest them.

While on a mission following the suspected thief who was still holding my phone, we came upon the hub of youth’s gang along Cemetery Road at around 10.00PM local time. There were groups of Aguu numbering 200 youths all were quite smoking bangi and those are the Aguu in Gulu City hideout to commit felony at will, they are part of Gulu City urban crime weaves.

While villages Aguu, and urbanize Aguu, does their looting differently, but their mission is the same, sending signature to community and government that they are in charges.
Orach Luke, 80 years old, retired Uganda police officer who lives in Layibi Te-Gwana, gives detail of event of the Aguu, says by 6.30 PM local time in the evening, at Layibi Central Primary School where he lives, they group of Aguu come out from their refuge, they take control of the vicinity, the place   is no go area. From 1.00PM those Aguu some of the groups from other parts of Gulu City hid out and began to assemble in the school compound. As they planned for their next moves., Orach lamented.

“I fear where Uganda is going, we are leading to seniority worse than Somalia stateless region.” Orach argued.
Mrs. Margret Orach, also giving her account, is a cattle keeper based at Layibi Central Division in Gulu City, says for those Aguu who live next to her home, called her by her name. “Mego in wa ngeyi.” Literally, Mum Margret for you we know you, you can pass without problem. But for those who come very far, we shall not spare them.

Ms. Mary Adong, a market vendor in Gulu City also a victim, says, more than five times, she has been robbed by Aguu.

“My first time, I came to the groups of Aguu youth who surrounded me and took my phone. While some of the other women lost a variety of items, some lost begs, and money.” Adong recalled.

The Acholi Ker Kwaro stand on Aguu

According to Francis Mawa, the Prime Minister of Puranga Chiefdom, one of the Acholi chiefdom, for him, his reasoning on Aguu, the new youth’s pheromone, this groups youths came as result of long conflict LRA, because most of them were born in IDP camps and they have never experienced the Acholi social lives system of Wang OO, where teaching of the young one were conducted by the elders and such youths would gain and learned way of life of the Acholi cultural norms. The dos and the don’ts.

Mawa says since the Aguu, those are children are the outcome traumatic we have experienced during the long war in northern Uganda, so let it be, if Ker Kwaro Acholi did not play their role to teach them and correct the mistake which happened in the past and correct the feature for our next generation.
so, they lost trust in the regime, frustration of lives. Those had accumulated wealth before President Museveni shortened their way to power in 1986. Those had over 2000 or 300 and 1000 heads of cattle in the past. But now they are living poorer, they were not used to begging for a living, but now they have lost even bread winners.

They see no feather for themselves, and the family feature remain black, the failure has been transferred of aggression to the sibling, we the Acholi feature always can be determine by the kind of children who bring them up, but if even we the parents are the victim of the current phenomena, then what about the young one who are living behind.

|This means the Aguu phenomena will determine what kind of feature generation Luo of Acholi origin will face, if the current generation fights the government and becomes relentless, then the next generation will be more dangerous than we are.” Puranga Prime Minister warned.

What we do in order to change the status quo of the Aguu youth’s phenomena from traumatic society to a better citizen, the children we leave them at home who later become social evil, let the parents and government do social economic transformation, society have developed when they developed from old ages to federation, agricultural revolution to political democracy.

Livingstone Odwar, the former Parish Chief of Palaro Odek Parish is one of the disappointed persons by way of this group’s new weave hooliganism behavior of Aguu. He observed and commented that the end of the world is coming. Because the mayhem is being carried out.

A case in point, says last week on Sunday Feb. 19, the groups of Aguu waylaid Ojuk Kal at around 6.30PM from Odek bridge and stab him on the left forehead with the knave first and while the victim turn to fight back, he was again stabbed in the stomach where he succumbed to the anguish leaving him unconscious lying bleeding.

Odwar adds, Ojuk is one of the many victims who have suffered very much at the hand of Aguu. “Ojuk had just got his money from Betty Layika, the former Independent Member of Parliament for Omoro Women candidate in 2021 Parliamentary candidate. When the tugs realized that he was dead they took all the money which he had received from Betty Layika.”

Odwar reveals that a week from the day when Ojuk Kal was waylaid by Aguu, while Olok who sold his cotton at UGX 200,000 was also attacked by Aguu while from Olam village, Odek Sub County and they robbed him too.

But Ojuk is not the only person who are the victims of Aguu, one Olok, after shelling his produce to settle down to cool himself, he bought two bottles of beers and later rode back to his home. But he was also ambushed, and the tugs beat him up, took all his money.

Worst of all, those Aguu youths do not want to work, but they want free things, in the morning they come to the trading centre and keep loitering around. They have shunt farming, but they want to eat.

“To me, the solutions of the Aguu once they are caught in action should be put to death, because they have turned to be part of insecurity after the long over two decades’ war in Northern Uganda.” Odwar lamented.

In Gulu City, many of the Aguu are being burnt, just because the community have fed up and are stocked with the atrocities against the innocent people.

Prof. Mulindwa from Makerere University says the social behavior of Aguu, the youth Pheromone in Acholi Sub Region who have turned to vandalism, bandit and social outlaw cut across Uganda social economic status.

The frustration they Aguu youths in Northern Uganda met are the social evil status in Uganda household, because the expectation of Aguu, the so-called youth who are robbing us daily, their parents failed to provide bread on the table, as they failed to be secured better education and living standard to their sibling who become destitute to themselves and community, Mulindwa argued.