By Mike Rwothomio 

The State Minister of Defense in charge of Veteran Affairs, Huda Olero, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reintegrating ex-combatants through comprehensive psychosocial support and skills development programmes, describing their return as a vital step toward national unity and development.

Speaking during a visit to Gulu, Minister Olero met with ex-combatants received by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Ex-combatants Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (UPDEP) recently.

The group, currently under the care of the organisation Terra Renaissance, includes former fighters from Central Africa and Darfur who have renounced rebellion and returned to their families in Uganda.

“I am happy that they have accepted coming back home, and they have already reached to their families,” Minister Olero said. 

She added, “We are just now trying to take them through psychosocial support, and we even want to give them skills training so that they go back and settle with their people back home.”

The minister emphasised that the government welcomes these returnees as ex-combatants and will support their full resettlement. She highlighted visible progress in infrastructure and economic development in northern Uganda, noting that Gulu today is vastly different from the one they left years ago.

“It’s not late for them. Government is going to support them, resettle them, and they begin from there,” she added. “Then, as citizens of this country, we see how to develop our country as Uganda… We should all be patriotic.”

Minister Olero urged former combatants, particularly those from Northern Uganda, to join the rest of the country in contributing to national goals.

She pointed to Uganda’s Vision 2040, which aims to transform the country into a high middle-income nation, stressing that every region and citizen must participate.

“As people of Northern Uganda, we spent a lot of time in these wars that have not helped us, but now let’s sit down and we join the rest of the country to develop our country,” she said. 

“By 2040, we should  be in high middle income as a country… All of us must be able to contribute taxes to develop our country.”

The returnees were described as healthy and motivated, with many expressing readiness to enrol in Universal Primary  schools and pursue education alongside their peers.

A representative accompanying the minister reinforced the government’s plan: “Together with government, we will equip them with skills so that under the NDP4 [National Development Plan IV], they can contribute towards the human capital development… making Uganda a developed and a better country for all of us.”

Government’s Reintegration strategy

Uganda has been managing the reintegration of ex-combatants, including those from regional conflicts, through structured programmes like UPDEP. 

The approach focuses on Psychosocial support to help returnees heal from the effects of prolonged conflict and adjust to civilian life and Skills training and resettlement assistance to enable productive livelihoods.

The government is also providing Education access, including integration into the national school system, Patriotic and economic inclusion to ensure returnees become contributors to national development rather than burdens.

Minister Olero pledged continued oversight, stating she would regularly visit the group when travelling through the region to West Nile.

State Minister Huda Olero posed for a photo with some ex-combatants.

Mike Rwothomio is news editor at Zoomer Africa, your number one grassroot infomation hub for African news, trends and updates.