Acholi people

So after Abote's supporters attempted to fight back against Amin's regime in 1972, Idi Amin then begins a nationwide effort to purge the Ugandan army of Abote supporters and the wider populace, really.

Many of these people were from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups.

And by the middle of that year, 72, 5,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians of those groups were missing.

Oh my God.

In recent episodes, we've discussed climate change from many different angles, from its impacts on agriculture, infrastructure, ecosystems and livelihoods, to the opportunities emerging through climate smart businesses and community-led solutions.

Now, today we're continuing our exploration of Uganda's shear sector, often referred to as the home of the green gold of Acholi.

Am I right about that, Margaret? Yes, it is.

In a recent episode, we spoke with Raymond Kakowa of the Nilotica Shear Alliance about the importance of the shear tree, the challenges facing the sector and efforts to strengthen the value chain.

My intention was to make them see the value of shea in a monetary term, and to make them also develop the attitude of adding values to whatever is available.

Low and below, within a few months, because the evidence was instant, whatever they produced, I sold, took them the money four times.

And then the fifth time, everyone opened their accounts, which we broke the cultural norms, because in Acholi, women do not own anything.

So for that, we did not mobilize the people.

I thought I need to, you know, I don't want to open this kind of, but it did make me think deeply because of course you have to be sensitive to those questions.

If anything, I think, I hope, when I talk about the Acholi people in Uganda and their restitution and their ceremonies which are deeply restorative in nature when harm has occurred, I hope I'm celebrating that.

Now, don't get me wrong, if I was to dress up like an Acholi person in Uganda and replicate their ceremony, I think I'd have a problem, right? Maybe a little

bit, yes.

Especially as a Scottish guy, that's not going to work.

But it's also possible if a person came from Northern Uganda who is an ally of the president and has, uh, done such things for him, he would still try to protect him the same way.

Because remember from Sevin's about his personal safety, anyone who presents to him as, uh, trying to protect him from danger, whether he's an Alur or Acholi or a, a, a Muchiga, i- is not as important as the danger that he's protecting him against.

There are many people who have done wrong things from Northern Uganda whom Muse has protected, the president's protected for so many years, because they're his people, you know? So if somebody's your ally, you stick with them.

But for this boy, it's more so when a person is from close to your village.

And I was their first sort of person here.

We were working at the beginning mostly in Acholi, which was fairly quiet, but it was a desperately poor part of the country.

So it got me involved in community development work- And, um, eventually I stayed until I was deported.

I was deported from Uganda.

yes but not in the one you're speaking about no no no no no no

no yeah does now does that fruit that bring the nuts some seasons they they can just decide not to bring and then this is in a lot of your work is in lango Yes, Lango, West Nile, and Acholi.

So that's Paddel, Otuke, Ajumani, Moyo.

But interestingly, as I'll mention later, we have projects now that are coming up to capacity strengthen the few enterprises of share in the eastern part of Uganda.