I want to thank you Lacambel for allowing me to send my voice in the come home programme.
My name is OKOT TEDDY UHURU. I was given the name UHURU because I was born at the time when Ugandan was attaining independence. I am now 49. In October I will be 50 years.My brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers who are in the bushes in central Africa, I want to appeal to you to come back home because we have already forgiven you for all the things which happened during the conflict. The people in the communities are very willing to receive you when you come home so that you start anew life. As I talk now, am in the village on my ancestral land. Everyone is now at home and there is now peace in Acholi land.

It’s important for you to know that the war you are fighting is not going to get you anywhere. The world has evolved and even if you succeed in overthrowing the government, your government will not be recognized, there are laws which will restrict your administration. If you want to rule the country, you register a party legally then you go for election. If you get enough votes then you rule.

If you want to be in the military, come out and get registered and then you become a soldier. Therefore, you should not have any fear, just come back home.You were here in Acholi, went into Sudan, Congo and now Central Africa. Do not use those guns you have on civilians while there. Those civilians are the ones who will keep you safe. You need to develop very good relationships with them. Do not loot their property, if you want anything from them for it, just ask for it. They will be the ones to show you the right directions to where you might want to go.

I know that by now you have had children with the women from there. We are now related in away. If you continue with violence against them then it will make us enemies. They will regard every member of Acholi an enemy not just you.

I know that there are some of you who have court cases to answer but for the rest who were born and abducted you do not have anything to answer in court. You are free to come back. Just get any opportunity to defect and come back home. We are ready to receive you. There is a lot of land in Acholi but Acholi are very few in number compared to other tribes. We shall be very happy if you came back home. We shall be happy to receive you so that you come and we develop the nation together.

I thank you very much.

Lacambel, am very happy to see you and for you to come to Kitgum here.My name is DR. ODONG ALEX. I work in the District Medical Director’s office in Kitgum. I stay in GANG DYANG Village, in PADWONG parish, Kitgum Town Council.
I want to talk about children who are still in captivity.

My son ODONG LUKA was abducted from LACOR Seminary in May 11th 2003 on a Saturday night. Ever since he was abducted, I don’t know if he is still alive. I have not got any reports about him. If God has kept him alive then am saying this; ODONG I am your father ODONG ALEX together with your mother GRACE ODONG, we are still alive.

We pray for you all the time hoping that one time you come back home if you are still alive. Your colleagues who were abducted during the same time came back home, went to school and have now competed their education. They visit us to find out if we have received any reports concerning you.

Don’t be deceived that your parents are not alive we are all alive and pray to God every day. If you are in the foreign land and you have fear of the communities, the best place to go is the Church where many people have gathered for prayers. Or you can also go to the leaders of that area or country.

I know that there are clan heads or traditional leaders in those areas. They will always take good care of strangers. So you can also go to them because they do not kill people.

I appeal to you my son, if you can hear this message then come out. Follow what I have suggested. I know that God will guide you and you will arrive here safely. We are all fine, all your brothers and sisters are fine. ANGOM JANE, BONIFACE AKERA, AKENA MOSES, OCAYA SAM are all fine. They keep asking for you.

Today that I have had the opportunity to talk to you, I want to assure you that we are all fine. We pray that God can protects and guide you. Just follow what I told you, go to the religious leaders, traditional leaders and government representatives. So that they can direct you well. There is also the UN who can assist you. If you go there just tell them that your father is called ODONG ALEX. He is in Uganda, works at the office of the Director of medical services in Kitgum or works with the Deputy LCV chairperson of Kitgum District (LUKA NYEKO) then they will find me.

Thank you very much.

I thank God for letting me to talk to you. My name is NYEKO GEORGE; your father (OPIO SIMON). You were abducted when you had gone swimming with OJOKO of the AGWAYI’S family and your younger brother OGENG.I want to tell you that if you are able to get this message then just come back home. After three years of your abduction, OGENG was also abducted. His real name is OLOYA. If he is also listening to me his father NYEKO George, he has to come back home.

At home we are all fine; all your brothers are fine for example KIDEGA is at School. OLANYA is also fine, OJOKO and his family had at one time gone to KARUMA but they have all come back home with their mother AKOT.

If you are able to get my message, then come back home by all means.

We are all fine here at home. The government is also very receptive to all those who return from the bush. The government will not harm torture or do anything bad to you when you come back home. So many people have returned from captivity and were received very well. You should have no fear but trust me because am your father.

At the time you were abducted, you were a student of PAGEYA in primary five. OGENG also had made it to primary three in the same school at the time of his abduction.

You all come back. We are very fine here at home. I also want to tell you to convince the people who abducted you to come back home too. There won’t be any problems at home. There is peace here at home. You will be properly received by the government, people at home and other community members.

I don’t have much to say but I appeal to you to come back home, the government will receive you without any problem.

My name is NELSON OPOKA DEMA, a religious leader in Kitgum, SAM SAM CHURCH.

I want to thank God for allowing me to send my voice on the radio in line with what.

I want also to thank all of you children who are in the bush in CAR, Sudan and Congo. I want to thank God especially for you alive. In my understanding as a religious leader, I know that it was not in your interest to be in the bush. You were just abducted from your home.

We as religious leaders, we pray for you everyday and night. Our prayer is that God gives you good health and keep you alive.

I want to give you advice that if you are still alive, look around you and the life you are living, remember how you left your parents at home and then determine how your family will be in future. We pray that you come back home so that we can unite like one family at home. Our prayer as religious leaders is that you cone and we join efforts to work together for the future of our country.

I also know that some of you are still very young and energetic but bring all that energy back home to assist the people who need your help the most. Some of you were the only children in your homes. Your parents are crying for you. There are so many problems at home but they never forget you because you are still alive.

Our prayer is that you come back home. If you come back home, nothing will happen to you. In the good news Bible, peter said that God wants all people to repent and come back home to him. Even if you feel you have committed unforgiveable sins.

As a religious leader I know that nothing will happen to you once you come back home. Forget what they are telling you. There are so many children who have come back home and they are living a very good life. Their parents are happy and some have even got jobs with the government. Others have also become religious leaders just like me.

Our children; don’t let this opportunity and time just pass by. If you are listening to this radio then just get time to come back home.

God wants us to be forgiving just like this country has also promoted forgiveness. You will also be forgiven when you come back home. This is my prayer, I thank God for keeping you alive. I also know that the same God can bring you back to your parents.

I don’t have much to say but I encourage you to have faith and strength with patient to come back home. Nothing will happen to you.

Thank you very much. Let the Lord bless you.

My name is KOMAKECH JOHN OGWOK, former LCV chairperson of KITGUM District Local government.

My appeal to the leaders of the LRA, to my brothers and sisters who are still with the LRA is that we as a tribe of Acholi, still love you and still regard you as our children, we appeal to you to come back home. Find all possible ways to do that because it’s still very painful to us as Acholi if you are not at home.

Most of the people have returned to their home, we shall be very happy if you return and join us at home because people have left the camps and are now resettled at their ancestral homes. Now we’re carrying on with normal community activities to develop our region. We shall be happy to have you participate as well.

Just try all means to come back. There are so many organizations willing to support you, the government of Uganda and other international agencies are still willing to receive you back home so that we can join hands in developing our region.

Back here at home, there is peace. People are being educated and trained to make them have a good life. There are health centers within the communities, good roads and so many other nice things as a result of the efforts of government of Uganda, the UN and other NGOs. Religious, cultural and civic leaders are all appealing to you to abandon the rebellion and come home because we are not seeing the benefits of the war.

We also have other leaders from the LRA who have returned and are living within the communities and are enjoying the peace in the region. We pray that the good lord gives you strength and leads you home so that we join everyone at home to protect our communities. We are so sad to see that some of our children are still in the bush.

My second appeal to all of you children, leaders in LRA is for you to stop being violent to the people with whom you are and where you may be staying in Congo, CAR and Sudan. We know that these people will be the ones to assist you when you are escape from the LRA. It will be very wise for you to have good relationships with them. We know that you could be having food shortage but it would also be good for you to request for it from the people. You are hurting those people and yet they will be the ones to assist you. They will be the ones to direct you to where you can get assistance.

We appeal to you to stop being violent to the people by looting, killing and other forms of violence which might bring a lot of anger to the people where you are. You build good relationships with them, they are also following the good advice we are giving them to assist you where possible to show you directions, food and lead you to where you can get to the people who can bring you home here with us in Uganda.

I pray to the good Lord to guide you with his wisdom and strength so that one time we all meet here at home as Acholi community.

My name is Kilama Christopher of AJULU, PATIKO – KAL; I am here to talk to my nephew named ODONG PATRICK. He was abducted together with his uncle called TABU Charles. Charles has already come back home. I have come here to tell him that he should find a way of escaping and come back home.We are all there at home , your mother NATELINA ARACH, is still alive, your grandmother BULADINA ANGOM is also still alive, they all think about you and they don’t have sleep because of you. They want you to find a way of escaping and come back just like your uncle Charles did.

So we pray for your safety wherever you may be. Do not be involved in committing crimes in those countries because that is not your country. That is the only way you will survive out there and it will not be good for you in future to have done those bad things. It’s better to ask for something from the people than using force to get them.

I don’t have much to say but I want to inform you that your Uncle Paul Mwoch is here with me. He also wants to tell you how much we are missing you. Am very grateful my name is Kilama Christopher.

I thank you very much my nephew; ODONG PATRICK, I only have one thing to ask you to do for me. Come back home. We are waiting for you. I remember when we transferred herds of cattle with you from PARABONGO to AJULU, you were still very young by then and I carried you on my shoulders on the long journey. I still value you so much. I see the pain my sisters and your mother NATALINA are going through while they think about you. We all have one prayer; come back home my child.

We are waiting for all of you who are still in the bush out there. We want all of you to come back home. Everyone wants you to come back home so that you can assist us because some of us are now very old. It’s only you who will take care of us. If you were at home, it would have been you who could have assisted me in the garden, it would have been you who could bring firewood for me, I want you to come back home my nephew. I pray that God gives you guidance and brings you home safely.

Thank you very much.

• LACAMBEL
  I want to ask if there are some people who have returned in the community from the bush. How are they living their lives?
• KILAMA
  Your brothers who returned from the bush are having a very happy life. Tabu who was also abducted with you was trained by World Vision and now a welder. He is having a very good life in town here. There is nothing to be afraid of, no one will take you anywhere for torture, put you in prison or kill you. That is all wrong information being spread out there, you just come back home.
• LACAMBEL
  I know that there were very many ceremonies to welcome back the children in the community. What plans will you have to receive your child?
• KILAMA
  First of all if he returns, we shall receive him as a family, we shall call all his sisters and brothers from his uncle’s home and everyone to come and welcome him in a big way with a lot of pride. It will be a very big ceremony to receive him at home. We shall also put him in a vocational training. So that he can be self reliant. We shall get him a family. We cannot allow him to live and die out there in the bush without a wife. Even if you have a child out there with someone as a blessing from God, just come over with them. We are very ready to receive you without any fear. We believe that you are alive and you will come back home to be with us.