Victim Obwangor was shot at point blank

George Pius Obwangor and his wife Betty had been together for close to five years. Pius loved Betty and tried to provide for their needs as best as he could. He was poor. Betty however, was having a secret affair with a man called Amorut.

Amorut had been selected amongst other youths to be part of a militia group the Arrow Boys that was formed to fight the LRA insurgency in eastern Uganda. Characteristically, Kony’s men had extended their tyranny from northern Uganda to eastern Uganda, killing scores of villagers and abducted a number of children.

When Pius discovered the affair, he was heart broken. He confronted Amorut and told him to stop seeing his wife. Amorut laughed at Pius. He told him that if he loved his life, he should never threaten him. He assured Pius that he was capable of making his life a living hell.

On March 3, 2005 at about 2.00 pm, Pius Obwangor and two of his friends Opolot Jeje and Okurut Abdu were arrested at Abuket trading centre. They had just eaten their lunch when a hand full of Arrow Boys and soldiers of the UPDF surrounded them and put them under arrest. It was alleged that Pius Obwangor was in possession of an illegally acquired firearm which he was hiding in an unknown location. Together with his friends he was taken to a military detach and detained over night. Two days later Pius Obwangor was dead. His two friends were still alive but badly injured from beating.

His body was released to his brother, Edison Oluka who buried Pius on March 6, 2005. On the day of his brother’s arrest, Edison had immediately tried to establish why he had been arrested and where he had been taken. On March 5, 2005 he was given a tip off by another member of the Arrow Boys who also gave him some shocking information. Pius’ fate had been sealed. He was to die.

Edison Oluka lodged a complaint to the Human Rights Commission in Soroti. In between May and November 2007, the commission led by Ms Wangadya, held sessions where they listened to shocking testimonies from three witnesses.

Oluka testified that he was told by Amorut’s colleague that Amorut (who had an affair with Obwangor’s wife) had intentionally framed his brother Obwangor. Actually, Amorut had told the RDC at the time, Musa Ecweru that Obwangor was a major collaborator of the LRA and that he had in his possession a firearm which he from time to time used to terrorise the people of Soroti. Oluka was further given the location where his brother was being detained and the mobile phone number of one of the Arrow boys, Mockson Ikurit who had arrested Obwangor.

On March 4, 2005 Oluka said he went to this detach and met the officer in charge called David Oitamong Ogarima. “The officer told me that the RDC, Musa Ecweru had instructed them to transport the three suspects to his office in Soroti. As I was at this detach, I saw and recognized the official vehicle of the RDC arriving at the detach. This vehicle, a double cabin pick up truck had military personnel in uniform. They were also armed. They took my brother away.”

The next day Oluka called Mockson Ikurit and that’s when he learnt of his brother’s death. Mockson could not explain how. After a number of phone calls to other Arrow Boys, Oluka learnt that his brother had been murdered.

The testimony of Abdu Okurut strengthened Oluka’s claim of murder. Okurut was arrested together with Obwangor. He testified to the Human Rights Commission that on March 4, 2005 they were taken to the RDC’s home. “The RDC said he had been given information that we had firearms. We denied. They undressed us and begun to beat us randomly. He then told them to take us to his office the next day. We were taken back to the detach. The next day at about 5.00pm we were picked by his official car. The Arrow Boys said they were taking us to his office four miles from the detach and that if we did not reveal where the guns were, we would die.”

He said that they were taken to a swamp in Mukura in Asuret sub-county. “They ordered us out of the vehicle. We were still tied. The RDC said ‘You either produce the gun or I show you that death is painful.’ Obwangor replied, ‘I don’t have a gun. If I did, I would have produced it at the time you beat me.’ At this point, seven Arrow Boys and RDC Ecweru took Obwangor a few metres away. “We had the RDC say some words then we heard gun shots. About 3-5 minutes later, the RDC and the other Arrow Boys came back but left Obwangor behind. I was scared I thought I was next,” said Okurut.

Another witness, Dr. James Opio who examined the body of Obwangor confirmed that he was shot at point blank range. “One bullet went through the right eye and exited through the back. Another went through the front chest and exited through the back. The cause of death was traumatic shock due to the gunshots. His brain and heart were damaged.”

The commission was convinced that the shooting of Obwangor was characteristic of a deliberate and willful intention to kill him.  The Commission said strong circumstantial evidence showed that the Arrow Boys deliberately killed Obwangor on RDC Musa Ecweru’s orders.  The commission took seven months to come to a decision since the respondents’ representatives did not appear five times in the course of the investigation without prior notice. The commission, in November 2, 2007 awarded the complainant Edison Oluka Shs20 million in damages.    

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