Kampala, Uganda | URN | Retired Major General Emilio Mondo has revealed that the late Gen. Moses Ali became leader of the Uganda National Rescue Front I (UNRF I) after proposing the formation of a rebel force to return thousands of West Nile refugees who had fled into exile following the fall of Idi Amin’s government. Moses Ali’s burial in Adjumani on Wednesday, Mondo said the decision was made at a meeting of former military officers and leaders in Yei, South Sudan, after refugees from West Nile had settled in camps.
According to Mondo, the meeting was convened by the late Gen. Mustafa Adrisi to discuss how displaced people could return home. “There is nothing else that we can do to ensure the return of our people home.
We have got to form an army and fight and open the way for our people to return home,” Mondo quoted Moses Ali as telling the meeting. He said delegates unanimously endorsed Moses Ali as the supreme leader of the new force because of his proposal and determination to lead the struggle. Mondo added that the new movement immediately tasked Moses Ali with mobilizing military equipment and other resources from contacts he had built during his time in government.
“We told General Moses Ali… you are going to go out and look for resources. Without the resources you cannot fight. He brought us the guns, and today we were able to come here because the organization won and opened the way for us to come back home,” Mondo said.
He credited Moses Ali’s leadership and organizational skills with keeping the movement together during the rebellion and later helping to restore peace in the region. Former minister and one of the remaining members of the UNRF executive, Obiga Kania, described Moses Ali as a commander who fought for what he believed was a just cause and urged West Nile residents not to forget the history of the struggle. “We are pleased with the comments that we have received from so many people that the person we appointed our commander was a good man; he has done his deed, and he fought for a good cause,” Kania said.
He urged younger generations to preserve the region’s history, saying understanding the past was essential to shaping the future. “A people who forget their history will not know where to go. We are here because of the history of the struggle that was started by a number of people, includi…
Summary from source