The government has finally kicked off a drive to pay all the war claimants who had successfully sued the government for their lost livestock and property during various insurgencies in the Lango, Teso, and Acholi Sub regions.
In his April 2024 letter, Deputy Attorney General Jackson Kafuuzi said all the claimants who had not filled out their data cards should do so immediately in order to start receiving their pay.
Previously, the government had excluded plaintiffs who had sued the government in different suits from the payment.
MP Linda Auma of Lira District said all claimants from the cases of Akello Betty that were successfully represented by Counsel Prof. Alex Bashasha (Bashasha and Co. Advocates) and those from Lango War Claimants represented by Kibwanga and Co. advocate will be considered in this phase of compensation payments.
She noted that even those who had previously filled out a data card but did not receive their payment should be verified in the ongoing exercise in order to receive their pay.
Recently, a certain man, identified as Obua Sam, claimed he was the one representing claimants in the case of Akello Betty whereas not. Security has been alerted to investigate this man whose actions are deemed questionable.
“The case of Akello Betty is fully completed, with all the members properly registered, and Obua is not a member. That one, Obua, is a thief. He benefited from the Ocip case. How can he again benefit from another case? The alleged Obua is a fake one. There is no role of a new lawyer over a finished case,” reads a detailed statement from Bashasha and Co. Advocate.
According to the statement, every member in the case of Akello Betty should participate in the data card filling process set to commence soon so as to be paid by the government.
“No one should listen to Obua; he has been obtaining money from many people, yet he is not a member in this case. All the members under Akello Betty should contact their coordinators to be guided. They can contact Hon. Linda Auma, Richard Omara Awio, and Hon. Levi OKODI Macpio, among others,” reads the statement.
The firm said, “As the law firm, we have successfully delivered our case, and we are grateful that the government has scheduled it for payment. The government will be paying beneficiaries directly, not through a lawyer. No lawyer is handling it, and no money will be paid through the lawyer.”
“So no lawyer, no committee, no association will handle the payment; the payment will be handled directly with the people, and Obua has not been assigned by the government to do that work,” said the statement.
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