Forum for Democratic Change, FDC presidential candidate Patrick Oboi Amuriat has applauded the people of West Nile for welcoming them and showing interest in their message of change.
Amuriat was speaking on 96.3 Access FM – Arua on Sunday night. “I want to thank the people of West Nile, they are very strong, and the resilience everywhere we went is a strong statement to the regime, the dictator that continues to torment us” Amuriat said.
He noted that the confrontation of police and the army caused them to lose time to speak to their people.
Amuriat added that his government will ensure that all Ugandans are treated equally and they won’t have the 1% of the population favored more than the 99%.
He added that Teso sub-region, Karamoja, West Nile are most affected by poverty brought about by the NRM government which found their areas stable and massacred their people.
“The Teso people fought Museveni for 5 years, but the rebellion was brought down. But the people of West Nile had forces, UNRF is something that is very well known in the West Nile and these people decided to enter a peace deal that was signed and some form of agreements arrived at. Those agreements have never been fulfilled” Amuriat added.
He says that the ex-combatants and their families continue to suffer in their villages without any compensation. Amuriat says these people were not given reparations for the wars they suffered and that this must change.
Amuriat promised that his government will ensure that these people are directly compensated or their next of kin. He also called out government for exploiting people of West Nile into selling their land and their natural resources being depleted for the benefit of a few people.
“When you go to Koboko, mount kei central forest, there is extensive logging now going on in their area and the loggers are coming from outside West Nile region, this is a natural resource that should have been put to the benefit if the people of West Nile. The same applies to Zoka forest in Adjumani, people have cried, the loggers come supported by the military, they are highly placed in government. The next thing they will be doing is bringing their cows, actually there is already long horned cows here in Madi Okolo extending next to the Nile” Amuriat said.
