Joseph Kony’s mother dead

Daily Monitor Reporter

The mother of Joseph Kony, commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels, has died.

Relatives say Nora Anek Oting, who was being cared for by government, passed on at Mulago hospital on Tuesday night.

She had been unwell for a while, say family members. Her ailment is thought to have been complicated by weakened immunity due to aging.

Tom Labeja, the rebel leader’s brother, says the body of Oting will on Wednesday be transported to Lalogi Sub-County in Gulu District. Burial arrangements are yet to be decided, he says.

It is understood government picked up Kony’s mum in 2006 to help persuade her son to abandon rebellion and the then continuing mayhem in northern Uganda. However, the LRA leader never capitulated to his mother’s plea.

Not even Oting’s trip together with a government delegation to north-eastern DR Congo in 2006, pleading for peace talks, could soften Kony who remains at large between DRC, South Sudan and Central African Republic.

That meeting, as it turns out, was the first between mother and wayward son, a former Altar Boy, in 15 years.

It is yet unclear if the rebel chief, who has eluded capture for decades, would surprise by appearing to bury his mother – or delegate.

About Ms Oting: The 86-year-old Ms Oting led a quiet life as a housewife in Gulu for many years until she was cast into the public eye when her son launched a long, bloody rebellion in Northern Uganda.

Ms Oting was a very religious woman, who believed her son to be tormented by evil spirits.

In a 2003 interview with the Gulu-based Lifeline Ministries, she said Kony was possessed with demons that made him act irrationally and forced him into the bush. She said she believed the only way he would abandon his rebellion was by prayer and through peace talks.

Ms Oting referred to Kony and President Museveni as her sons and urged them to talk directly to make a deal. Her wish never came to pass. Kony reneged on a promise to sign a Final Peace Agreement with government and the peace talks fell apart.