Kenneth Kaunda: From LRA captive to Christian Charity organisation staff. Image Credit: World Vision Uganda
Over 100,000 people lost their lives and about 60,000 children were abducted, the majority of these, forced into becoming child soldiers and ‘bush wives’ when the Lord’s Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony waged a war of attrition against the government and people of Uganda.
One of the victims, Kenneth Kaunda was on his way to collect sugar cane from a nearby family garden in Laminocwida village, Pader district in Northern Uganda when he was hijacked by the rebel group in August 1997.
I submitted, and was captured, Kenneth told World Vision in a report published recently.
The Christian Charity revealed that Kenneth was only 12 years of age at the time of his abduction. He endured three months in the jungles of Northern Uganda, walking for long journeys, sometimes without food.
He said: “We carried guns and other heavy loads. I witnessed a lot of terrible and traumatizing events for the time I was there, but God was always on my side. Some of my colleagues died but I managed to stay alive.”
Kenneth told World Vision that many of his colleagues who attempted to escape were killed, but this did not derail him.
During the rebel group’s movement along the South Sudan border, Kenneth was faced with an opportunity to escape, “I took it,” he said.
“I was left alone to watch, from the top of a tree,” he explained. “That’s what we, the young boys usually did, to keep the team informed in case of any approaching forces. My partner, the one supposed to watch me, got so hungry and went to look for food, I was sure this was my best chance.”
Kenneth creeped out of the tree and ran without looking back. He ran for six hours straight, until dusk.
“I found an old man, who helped me,” he recalled. “My legs were swollen, I was thirsty and hungry. I stayed there for the night, and continued moving the next day.
After the escape, World Vision says that Kenneth was taken to a military barracks where he stayed for close to a month, together with some 400 others, mostly women and children. He explained how moving past the painful experience couldn’t be possible without God.
“I received a lot of support from World Vision for my recovery process. I later recovered from all the war distress, and even resumed school,” he said.
Being abducted cost Kenneth his childhood and made him miss out on his dream of becoming a journalist.
“I was forced to stop in Senior 4. I then decided to join driving school. If I had remained at school, and if I had not seen all that I saw in the bush, maybe I would have completed university and become a journalist,” he said.
In 2007, Kenneth completed his professional driving course, and three years later, in 2010, he got his first job as a driver for a non-governmental organization (NGO) in his home district, Pader.
In February 2015, Kenneth became the happiest man when he got a job at World Vision, the same organisation that had supported him to overcome thoughts of a terrible past.
