It should also be noted that it was through the Association that the corruption in government was clearly noted, although the bribery claims may not be verified due to absence of the Association’s audit reports. On the other hand, the ghost names on the lists of claimants, the military’s reluctance to act against suspect errant soldiers, and the lack of coordination between government departments handling the claims all point to challenges in government that delayed the handling of reparation claims. Finally, while claims focused on visible physical resources (cows), the compensation came in invisible forms such as money and bank accounts. Such a mode of payment held the potential to make significant changes in the victims’ economic possibilities, but therein also lay the seeds of danger. The invisible form of payment created the possibility of the resources disappearing without a trace, and of breeding conflict through suspicions and mistrust between the members. The conflicts and mistrust within the Association not only weakened it internally, but also affected its effectiveness as the voice of the Acholi war debt claimants. Thus, the Association that started as a unique uniting factor currently stands as a source of mistrust, divisions and conflict, whose sustainability hangs in the balance.
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