Opinion: Ecweru’s Unforgettable Fight Against Kony In Teso

 November 13, 2025   |    86 views

By Omara Ogaram

When rumour spread like wild fire that a notorious rebel was seen with a huge army in the bushes of Katakwi, people panicked.

This rebel had sowed mayhem in Acholi and lango land.

We heard stories that, he had slaughtered people and burnt them. He chopped off the lips and ears of his victims.

If he came to a village, there was no mercy. He plundered and destroyed everything on sight.

This was Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

The mere mention of his name sent shivers down our hearts. Even children were terrified.

We had survived life in internally displaced camps. We were the remnants of cattle rustling.

Our boys, who had fought as rebels had surrendered to government. We had relative peace. We were begining to put our lives together.

But right now, Kony was deploying across the region. His group had spread over and beyond Katakwi. His forces were seen in Kaberamaido. He had ambushed a bus on Lira Soroti road, killing everyone on board. Under the cover of darkness, he had sneaked to the outskirts of Soroti town killing a teacher from Teso college.

Kony was destroying our little gains.

We never wanted another war. We had spent seven years in insurgency. The cattle rustlers had reduced us to zero. Right now, our people were beginning to pick on life.

Are we accepting another insurgency? No sir! This was not going to happen.
Iteso are resilient, resourceful and tough people. Quickly, we organized ourselves with the guidance of our leaders like the late Haji Okodel, the late Bishop Ilukor and others.

Young men were mobilized to fight this new monster Kony, who was threatening our existence.
Among them was a young man, maybe he was 38 years old. He was slender, tall and dark skinned with a sharp gaze. When he walked,  he tilted his head sideways like the Iteso warriors of long ago. He was a former rebel commander but had later joined government. Government had posted him to work in Kasese as a Resident District Commissioner. When he heard Kony had attacked his homeland Wera, he came back.

This was Ecweru

You see, the Kony threat was real. Government soldiers had fought Kony in Acholi. But Kony was elusive like a fish in the water.  When Kony entered Teso, the president called a big meeting in Soroti involving local leaders. He wanted to assure us of security. But our people were impatient.

” Give us the guns and ammunition! We shall take on this Kony,” the elders told the president.

This is how a resistance group called Arrow Boys was formed in 2003. Ecweru became one of it’s commanders. Ecweru was from Wera, a village Kony was threatening to overrun. Ecweru knew if he didn’t defend his homeland, he would have no home. He mobilized the other boys.

Our people are a determined force. We fight to win. We don’t know the meaning of surrender especially if you want to take away our land and cows. This is what Kony didn’t know. He thought, he would walk over us. He had  miscalculated. Teso was not accepting insurgency.

Ecweru took Kony head on. Those close to him say, whenever Kony terrorists were seen in a neighboring village, Ecweru would literally run after them commanding our boys in our language, “shoot those idiots.” Within minutes, the threat would be neutralized.

During the war against Kony, Ecweru spent much of his time in the bushes hunting Kony terrorists. Sometimes, he walked from camp to camp giving morale to our fighters. Sometimes, he would be seen in the community encouraging our people to stay calm.

After battles in the bushes of Obalanga and Acowa, Ecweru returned to Soroti with his AK 47 assault rifle slung over his shoulder. His brave eyes surveying the environment with filtered perception.

Whenever he appeared,  journalists both local and international surrounded him eager to get an update of the war. His words were calculative. Ecweru, the dark man from Wera, spoke with a heavy ateso accent.  He was always  articulate and well informed. Ecweru answered all questions with precision. He  became the face of our resistance against Kony.

But, who was this young man? What was motivating him to fight? Where did he study his military tactics? These questions remained a mystery.

Like many of us, Ecweru’s parents were farmers. He had no other homeland but Teso. Ecweru grew up from the plains of Teso. He knew the fighting spirit of our people. No one fights like our boys. You attack them, you face a real force.

By early 2004, Kony’s commanders had been wiped out. Tabuley was killed. Vincent Otti was finished. Opio was eliminated.

And Kony?

He had escaped through Obalanga and exited Uganda to Garamba Forest in Congo. This is was the begining of the end of Kony and his group. Our people returned to their villages and peace was restored.

And Ecweru?

Ecweru, the descendant of the great warriors. A man who never knew the meaning of cowardice. A man, whose middle name was courage. By 2006, Ecweru, the arrow boy quietly hang up his Ak 47 assault rifle.

He bought a suit, joined the game of politics and was elected a member of parliament of Amuria, a position he holds to date.

Omara Ogaram
Mr Ogaram is the former Editor of the Ateso Weekly Newspaper,Etop