By Phillip Mbugo William
They are youthful and daring. Villagers who have borne the brunt of the attacks of the Ugandan rebels – the Lords Resistant Army (LRA) – see them as their saviours. Armed with traditionally made bows and arrows, the Arrow Boys, as locals call them, have successfully protected their villages in Southern Sudan’s Western Equatorial State against attacks by the LRA.
The Arrow Boys, a rag tag community policing outfit, was formed to fight off the LRA that had set up a base at Nabanga-Rikuangba along the border of South Sudan and Northern Congo. The base was set up at the time when peace talks were going on in Juba between the Government of Uganda and LRA. The talks later broke down after LRA leaders refused to continue with peace negotiations.
Besides bows and arrows, the Arrow Boys also use home made guns, known as “Fabri Casio” which cannot match the fire power of the LRA rebels who use sophisticated automatic weapons and even grenades.
The Chairperson of Traditional Authority in WES, Wilson Hassan Peni, said that the group was formed after consultations with top Southern Sudanese leaders. “When the situation worsened with frequent attacks by the LRA, a team was selected in WES to meet the Vice President of South Sudan Dr. Riak Machar in 2008 and seek the government’s help,” said Peni.
Peni said the name “Arrow Boys” was a borrowed from Northern Uganda where the LRA originated in 1986 to fight the Government of Uganda. Arrow boys or Rhino Groups were formed at community level in Gulu, Teso in order to protect civilians against attacks from the LRA.
Led by charismatic Joseph Kony, the LRA has killed thousands of people, raped women and abducted hundreds of children, many of whom are either turned into wives or drafted as fighters. In Western Equatorial state the rebels have caused untold suffering to the locals, besides the many killings and abductions. Their attacks have continued to hinder post civil war reconstruction of the rich agricultural state, with most farmers staying away from their arable land in fear of being abducted or maimed.
Peni said that there is no specific number of Arrow boys because households were expected to contribute volunteers to join the group. He said that although the LRA attacks had reduced after the rebels scattered deep into the Congo forest, the Arrow Boys still need help because the rebels could return to molest the people. “We are urging well–wishers to support the Arrow boys with food and communication equipment to help them prepare for any future attacks against the villages,” he added.
Peni said the Arrow Boys also needed logistical support to supplement the efforts of the Southern Sudanese Army. “This group is not a militia. It is a community policing outfit whose efforts must be appreciated,” he said.
A member of the Arrow Boys in Yambio County Mr. Khamis Pee acknowledges that his colleagues have put their lives at risk to protect the community against attacks by the LRA. “We need support. We need food and logistical support from well wishers. We also need motivation because we are supplementing the government’s efforts in protecting the people,” said Pee. He added: “We assure the SPLA soldiers of our cooperation as we struggle to give support to our communities.”
The Official Government spokesperson who is the State Minister of Information and Communications WES, Gibson Bullen Wande, stated that there was strong cooperation and coordination between Arrow Boys and Government forces. Wande cautioned against reference to the Arrows Boys as militia, explaining that they were just Home Guards or vigilantes. “The Arrow Boys are not a creation of the government. Chiefs are responsible for their operations because they are directly under them,” he said.
