The preamble of Uganda’s 1995 Constitution serves as a reminder of the country’s turbulent history.123 The preamble reads “WE THE PEOPLE OF UGANDA: RECALLING our history which has been characterized by political and constitutional instability; RECOGNISING our struggles against the forces of tyranny, oppression and exploitation” This national acknowledgement of instability, which has also been recognized in a number of court cases124 illustrates the need to comprehensively address the root causes of conflict in an attempt to ensure that such violence should never reoccur. The civil conflicts and rebellions that ravaged the country involved a number of armed groups including the Allied Democratic Forces, the West Nile Bank Front, the Uganda People’s Democratic Army, the Uganda National Liberation Front, the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena and the longest-lasting LRA conflict.125 Many of these conflicts arose out of discontent that originated from the unstable and unequal political and economic climate. These conflicts have destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of families across Uganda, and have resulted in the destruction of property, internal displacement of millions and deaths of large numbers of people including women and children. 2.1.
Colonialism Sowed the Seeds for Future Conflict
In 1896, two years after the creation of Buganda located in the southern part of Uganda, a British protectorate, Britain extended its control over the western kingdoms of Ankole, Toro and Bunyoro, which became the new Uganda Protectorate.126 This marked the beginning of effective colonial occupation in Uganda. According to transitional justice scholars Doom and Vlassenroot, the seeds for ethnic fragmentation in Uganda were sown during the colonial era.127 British colonial rule effectively created a socio-economic division between North and South that consequently led to the economic marginalization of the North and the further development of the South.128 Rather than integrating the different ethno-racial groups, the South was favored economically while the North was
123
Steven B.K Kavuma, "Keynote Address" (paper presented at Stakeholder Consensus Building Workshop on the Draft National Transitional Justice Policy, Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala, Uganda, May 21, 2013), 4. 124 Joseph Isanga, "Courts and Separation of Powers: A Comparative Study of the Uganda and South Africa Experiences" (unpublished manuscript, University of Notre Dame, n.d.), 4. 125 Hillary Onek, "Opening Remarks" (paper presented at Validation of a Report and Policy Proposals on the use of Traditional Justice and Truth Telling Mechanisms in the Promotion of Justice, Accountability, Peace and Reconciliation, Kampala, Uganda, July 18, 2012), 1-2. 126 "History of Uganda," History World, accessed July 31, 2013, http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ad22#ixzz2aXNs9V1U. 127 David Lanz, The ICC’s Intervention in Northern Uganda: Beyond the Simplicity of Peace vs Justice (n.p.: The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, n.d.), 2, accessed August 2, 2013, http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/EC66215A0071F156C12573910051D06D-Full_Report.pdf. 128 Ibid.
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