Regional
Uganda’s war reparation to DRC sets record straight
On
September 12, Uganda confirmed the payment of $65 million to the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), in reparations for the invasion and looting by the
Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) during the Congo war between the late
1990s and 2003.
In
February 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Uganda to pay
$225 million to DRC for loss of 15,000 lives and other damage to persons that
include rape, conscription of child soldiers and the displacement of up to
500,000 people, $60 million for looting, plunder and exploitation of natural
resources and $40 million for property damage.
Kinshasa
initially demanded $11 billion but the Ugandans claimed that the amount could
economically cripple them, and were granted $325 million instead.
The
payments will run until 2026, with Kampala paying $65 million each year to
Kinshasa. Failure of paying the installment would accrue a six percent annual
interest rate.
Uganda’s
first military involvement in DRC was in 1965. On February 4, 1966, three
ministers and Col. Amin (who later became the president of Uganda), were
involved in a gold and ivory scandal.
Fast
forward. The UPDF's entry into DRC in 1999 resulted into the plunder of
Congolese natural resources, prompting the DRC to take the long-running dispute
to the United Nations' court. Founded after World War II, the ICJ rules in
disputes between countries, mainly based on treaties. Its decisions are final
and cannot be appealed.
In
2005, the ICJ ruled that Uganda violated international law by occupying parts
of Ituri province with its troops, and supporting other armed groups in the
area during the conflicts in the country’s mineral-rich Ituri province from
1998 to 2003.
DRC
government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said the reparations “are lodged in a
transitory account of the Ministry of Justice in a local bank” as the
government creates mechanisms to compensate the victims’ families.”
Many
Congolese now pray that the payments serve the intended and just purpose; bring
the much needed relief to the victims.
Relations
between Uganda and DRC have warmed. In December 2021, the latter allowed the
former to deploy, at least 1,700 soldiers, into the eastern part of the
country, in a joint military operation with the Congolese army (FADRC) to fight
the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a terrorist group from Uganda.