Money spinning and the Juba Peace Talks - An observation from a Peace Conference delegate
In the 4 days that we were in Juba , I was privy to face-to-face and phone conversations with delegates from both sides and their bosses. I was also able to obtain information from delegations from Uganda that included MPs and others.

My greatest disappointment was the discovery that even the Peace Talks in Juba has become a business!!

In fact, while the LRA delegation had genuine concerns, which concerns were deliberated upon by the delegates and properly addressed and responded to by Dr. Machar, there are many behind the scenes issues that surfaced and calls for accountability. These include the following:

Large sums of money have been provided to the LRA delegation by the Secretariat or directly through some NGOs. These have not been fully accounted for. In fact, this is a direct source of conflict among the LRA delegates themselves. In one case, it is reported that over $200,000 provided by an NGO for purchase of food and medicines especially for the Owiny-Kibul assembly point is unaccounted for. One truck full of cheap foodstuff purchased by the LRA delegation was undelivered and wasting in Juba . However, a leader of the delegation is reported to have recently purchased a new house in Nairobi .

Three weeks ago, in spite of the delay in a resumption of the Peace Talks, the Peace Talks Secretariat in Juba sent $20,000 to a leader of the LRA delegation in Nairobi . A member of the LRA who was present in Juba assured me that he and others present in Nairobi only received $300 each. It was reported to them that $6000 had been sent from Juba . A different amount, $10,000 was reported by the delegation leader to the Deputy LRA Commander.

In Juba , at least two hoteliers complained about the behavior of the LRA delegation and the personal debts some delegates incurred.

On the Government side, one female observer delegate from Kitgum switched sides. The government sent her as an NRM delegate, a former Women MP for Kitgum, and facilitated her with a satellite phone. On reaching Juba , she became a spoiler of the talks. She started calling the Deputy LRA Commander and provided false information so as to discredit the talks. This was after it was discovered that she had written a secret letter to the Secretariat demanding $200,000 for her use to return home to start offering Mato Oput. The culprit was approached and rebuked by the Pader MP Odonga Otto and severely admonished by the entire delegation. There are also scores of unknown or uninvited “delegates” that show up at the Secretariat and demand payments and per diem.

One of the two NGOs that had also been invited to Juba is reported to have offered each LRA delegate a $300 per diem pay if the venue was switched. The NGO ran into problems with UN OCHA unable to accommodate its pay demands and promptly left town.

In Juba, it was reveled to me that two members of our community that were in attendance in Juba but not invited by H.R.H. Rwot Onen Achana II are also doubling as agents for Khartoum . The two had been to Khartoum as recently as two weeks before the Juba conference purportedly soliciting assistance for the LRA.

These money woes do not include the briefcases full of money that Col Walter Ochora and others have delivered on behalf of State House directly to the bush. The actual dollar and UGX amounts are staggering. The currency of trade in Garamba and South Western Equatoria is not the dollar or Sudanese dinar but UGX!

The infamous Rev. Mike of the 1970s in the USA used to say “Lack of Money is the source of all evil.” The plight of our people might now rest in this evil and how Peace Talks has become a boon business.