Industrialisation will fasten recovery of our region—Acholi leaders

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Acholi leaders have appealed for the industrialisation of their region in order to realise faster recovery, employment creation and economic development in the former war zone.

The leaders on a benchmarking tour of greater Luwero region over the weekend (May 31, 2025), said they want investors to establish factories similar to those in Luwero which is also a former war zone.

Comprising cultural, religious and political leaders from Acholi, the delegation had their two-day tour organised by the Prime Minister's Office (OPM) under the Operation Harmony Initiative.

Kilak South MP Gilbert Olanya said the numerous government programmes to develop post-war Acholi did not create much impact because the implementers were instead serving their personal interests.

While in Nakaseke district, where the delegation ended their two-day tour, Olanya noted how Chinese investors had transformed a former bush into a multi-billion Kapeeka Industrial Park, which currently employs thousands of youths.

"The youths in our area are, on the contrary, loitering in the villages because they have nothing to do," he said.

Olanya hastened to add that the tour by Acholi leaders was for study purposes. "This is not a political tour. We want to study and learn what we can do as Acholi leaders to develop our area by comparing Luwero and Acholi."

Rwot Ogenga Obita 2, a cultural leader from Kitgum, said the establishment of industries would help post-war Acholi to develop quickly since the various industrial projects that the delegation toured were touching the lives of many people.

"If we were to have such developments in Acholi, our area would certainly develop very fast," Rwot Ogenga said, adding that Acholi leaders would plan to have similar projects.

Apart from Kapeeka industrial park, the team also visited Victoria Sugar Works in Luwero district.

Luweero Resident District Commissioner Richard Bwabye, who welcomed the delegation, said the former triangle had recovered from war devastations and was now bustling with a lot of economic activities because of peace and stability.

Bwabye invited entrepreneurs from Acholi to invest in Luwero.

OPM assistant commissioner Robert Kasirabo said the tour was aimed at enabling Acholi leaders to get a first-hand experience of what is happening in the post-war Luwero.

Why Luweero?

"Luwero is an area that suffered a lot of insurgences just as Acholi. We want them to learn from the experience of Luwero," Kasirabo said.

Northern Uganda war

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) war in northern Uganda, lasting from 1986 to 2006, had devastating consequences for the region, impacting its population, economy and overall development. The conflict resulted in mass displacement, significant loss of life, widespread human rights abuses, and the destruction of infrastructure. Furthermore, the war hindered economic development, leaving lasting scars on the social and psychological well-being of the affected communities.

Luweero triangle liberation

Like northern Uganda, Luwero region endured the six-year NRA liberation war, most of which was fought in the area in the 1980s, devastatingly impacting on communities and development.

Caption: Acholi leaders touring Goodwill tile factory at Kapeeka industrial park in Nakaseke District.