The DPO was chosen because of his long service and wealth of experience in veterinary services in the subregion. He had served in various capacities related to animal husbandry since he graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Makerere University, in Uganda, in the late 1970s. At the time I met him for this study in 2011, he told me he was looking forward to his retirement which was due in two years. Between them, the NAADS coordinator and the DVO of Amuru met many ordinary farmers both in crop and animal husbandry in the course of their day-to-day duties and responsibilities; hence most of the data about agricultural activities in western Acholi could be captured through the two officers. The three elders represented different shades of opinion in the region. All the respondents were men, as resources and wealth are culturally in the male domain in Acholi as is the case in many African cultural systems. Even the Association executives did not include women. So, I did not consider this to be a limitation.
I also used secondary data from newspapers and other records, including online resources. Being a political issue, war reparations have continually been discussed both in the media and through other forums. Although AWDCA compensation claims have been perpetually treated with suspicion by state agencies and although the Association is embroiled in internal wrangles over money and leadership, which have greatly weakened its influence, the Association remains the ‘official’ mouthpiece of Acholi on war related compensations. As I continued to write these pages in 2022, both print and digital media were still carrying occasional reports of the ongoing controversies around the Association and livestock compensation.
‘It is the Victims who Asked for Cows’
The prioritisation of livestock (cows) in the demand for compensation put to the government by AWDCA may seem surprising given that cattle-rearing was not the primary economic activity of the Acholi. So, why did an area where cattle-keeping was not the primary livelihood activity decide to concretise its reparation claims in terms of livestock? Assets such as vehicles, machinery, and even human lives lost in the war did not feature in the Association’s negotiations with the government for compensation. This is one of the questions I put to the executive committee members in the focus group discussion. The members revealed that priority was given to livestock because of its significance in the socio-cultural as well as the economic life of an Acholi family. But one of them put it slightly differently, thus:
It is the victims who asked for cows. They wanted to replace their animals which they lost so painfully at the hands of the Karamojong rustlers. The campaign of stealing our livestock was so swift that within the first three years of the insurgency all our cows were gone. By 1990 there were no more cows in Acholi. Some people were even injured or killed trying to protect their livestock. That is why many were even prepared to testify in court.
On my first visit to AWDCA offices in Gulu town in August 2011, as a follow up on interviews I had conducted with the Gulu District Production Officer and the NAADS Coordinator of Amuru district, I put this question to AWDCA chair. By this time, Norbert Adyera had been replaced by Engineer Noah Opwonya. In his response, Opwonya was a little more elaborate.