Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Nathan Nandala Mafabi has attributed the persistent poverty in northern Uganda to the government’s failure to compensate victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency.
Addressing a rally at Koch Goma Town Council, Nwoya District, on Thursday, 30th October, 2025, Mafabi said the lack of a compensation framework has left thousands of families struggling decades after the conflict.
“The rampant poverty in northern Uganda is due to the absence of a compensation plan for those affected by the LRA insurgency. If the government had compensated the people who lost loved ones and property, Northern Uganda would not still be suffering from poverty,” Mafabi said.
According to a statement from the FDC media team, Mafabi noted that the Acholi and Lango sub-regions were hit the hardest by the LRA conflict, which began in 1987 and lasted nearly two decades.
“Between 1987 and 1994, the conflict, reportedly fueled by support from the Sudanese government, intensified as the LRA carried out large scale abductions of children and brutal attacks on civilians,” he added.
Mafabi pledged that, if elected, his administration would compensate affected families with interest, acknowledging the long years they have endured without redress.
He also promised to protect land ownership rights in the Acholi sub-region and return grabbed land to its rightful owners, urging residents to vote for the key in the upcoming elections to implement these reforms.
“Our government will not tolerate land grabbing. Voting for the key ensures that every displaced person gets their land back, in line with the FDC manifesto,” Mafabi said.
In addition to compensation and land restitution, Mafabi highlighted the FDC’s economic empowerment initiatives, promising that each village would receive UGX 100 million to support development and welfare programs.
He also noted that the UGX 100 million distributed under the Parish Development Model (PDM) would serve as an additional bonus to beneficiaries.
Mafabi concluded by emphasizing that his vision for Northern Uganda goes beyond compensation and land restitution, focusing on long-term development, economic empowerment, and social justice.
He urged residents to seize the upcoming elections as an opportunity to transform their communities, ensure accountability, and secure a future where no family suffers in silence and every village thrives under the FDC’s proposed programs.
