Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2008, Page 28
and the LRA forces abductees to beat to death children who answered affirmatively (HRW
1997, 16 Oxfam 2001, 22).
In addition, the LRA conducts violent rituals on the way to base camp. First, each child
experiences ‗registration,‘ which is about fifty lashes that commanders administer to
desensitize children to pain (Vinci 2005, 37). After registration, and after any other beating,
commanders instruct children not to touch their wounds at the risk of another assault (de
Temmerman 2001, 45).12 Even before these initiation tactics, many children want to
escape, but the LRA murders children who attempt to leave and often threatens to attack
the families of successful escapees. The LRA keeps records of abductees‘ families and
communities, so that in the event of escapes it can punish the escapees by harming their
loved ones (Hovil and Lomo 2004, 32).13 Moreover, children who do escape may not know
where they are or how to find help, and they lack the supplies needed to attempt the trek
home. Usually children fear the LRA more than these other factors, but both make any
escape attempt extremely risky.
Psychological and Spiritual Manipulation
In addition to these physical abuses, the LRA uses psychological and religious tactics to
control children. It is possible that the LRA uses drugs in addition to these methods
however, I have found only one newspaper article to support that possibility (Sunday Vision,
2007). Many of the LRA‘s religious rituals work to garner group loyalty and obedience.
Moreover, the LRA forces all recruits to commit atrocities, which carry communal,
psychological, and spiritual consequences. The LRA also relies on its own structure to create
a social environment that socializes children into the group‘s violent norms. These tactics,
along with the constant physical threat of violence, create ‗exit costs‘ (i.e., all the reasons
not to leave a group [Zablocki 1998, 219]), which make some children more fearful of
leaving the group than remaining within it.
LRA guerrilla tactics resonate throughout all LRA behavior, and many of them seem to be
more spiritually driven than rationally practical. These tactics help the LRA control recruits
through religious connotations and confusion by creating a mystical environment that
enforces the alleged reality of the unseen world. For instance, one escapee claims that
before crossing the road, commanders sprinkle water and say a prayer that ensures safe
passage (Hovil and Lomo 2004, 30). To preserve the sanctity of streams, Kony instructs
rebels to remove their shoes before crossing and forbids rebels to urinate in running water
(de Temmerman 2001, 73). Committed LRA members believe that if they use certain stones
around their fires, then those stones will explode like bombs (Lily in HRW 1997, 41). These
rituals and rules ensure obedience and purity throughout the LRA ranks. Some tactics,
conversely, seem to relate purely to militia needs. For example, in an attempt to prevent
attacks, commanders kill children who allow government, SPLA, and civilians to see smoke
from their fires (Amnesty International 1997, 17). Some LRA members use terror tactics
that Kony‘s alleged jogi disapprove of, such as the rape of civilians (Amnesty International
1997, 11).
The LRA‘s use of religion complicates children‘s understanding of their situation in the
group. For instance, the LRA conducts rituals in an effort to teach children that supernatural
powers will prevent their escape. Using shea butter, the LRA smears markings on its new
recruits, which the LRA insists brings children who attempt to escape back to the group
(Hovil and Lomo, 2004:30 escapee in Allen 2006, 68). Escapees informed Zarembo (1996)
that LRA rebels also believe that the mountains return escapees to the LRA for physical
punishment. Many children, who believe that the sacred items and markings return them to
the group if they attempt to escape, fear the consequences of an escape attempt even more
than they fear remaining within the group.
and the LRA forces abductees to beat to death children who answered affirmatively (HRW
1997, 16 Oxfam 2001, 22).
In addition, the LRA conducts violent rituals on the way to base camp. First, each child
experiences ‗registration,‘ which is about fifty lashes that commanders administer to
desensitize children to pain (Vinci 2005, 37). After registration, and after any other beating,
commanders instruct children not to touch their wounds at the risk of another assault (de
Temmerman 2001, 45).12 Even before these initiation tactics, many children want to
escape, but the LRA murders children who attempt to leave and often threatens to attack
the families of successful escapees. The LRA keeps records of abductees‘ families and
communities, so that in the event of escapes it can punish the escapees by harming their
loved ones (Hovil and Lomo 2004, 32).13 Moreover, children who do escape may not know
where they are or how to find help, and they lack the supplies needed to attempt the trek
home. Usually children fear the LRA more than these other factors, but both make any
escape attempt extremely risky.
Psychological and Spiritual Manipulation
In addition to these physical abuses, the LRA uses psychological and religious tactics to
control children. It is possible that the LRA uses drugs in addition to these methods
however, I have found only one newspaper article to support that possibility (Sunday Vision,
2007). Many of the LRA‘s religious rituals work to garner group loyalty and obedience.
Moreover, the LRA forces all recruits to commit atrocities, which carry communal,
psychological, and spiritual consequences. The LRA also relies on its own structure to create
a social environment that socializes children into the group‘s violent norms. These tactics,
along with the constant physical threat of violence, create ‗exit costs‘ (i.e., all the reasons
not to leave a group [Zablocki 1998, 219]), which make some children more fearful of
leaving the group than remaining within it.
LRA guerrilla tactics resonate throughout all LRA behavior, and many of them seem to be
more spiritually driven than rationally practical. These tactics help the LRA control recruits
through religious connotations and confusion by creating a mystical environment that
enforces the alleged reality of the unseen world. For instance, one escapee claims that
before crossing the road, commanders sprinkle water and say a prayer that ensures safe
passage (Hovil and Lomo 2004, 30). To preserve the sanctity of streams, Kony instructs
rebels to remove their shoes before crossing and forbids rebels to urinate in running water
(de Temmerman 2001, 73). Committed LRA members believe that if they use certain stones
around their fires, then those stones will explode like bombs (Lily in HRW 1997, 41). These
rituals and rules ensure obedience and purity throughout the LRA ranks. Some tactics,
conversely, seem to relate purely to militia needs. For example, in an attempt to prevent
attacks, commanders kill children who allow government, SPLA, and civilians to see smoke
from their fires (Amnesty International 1997, 17). Some LRA members use terror tactics
that Kony‘s alleged jogi disapprove of, such as the rape of civilians (Amnesty International
1997, 11).
The LRA‘s use of religion complicates children‘s understanding of their situation in the
group. For instance, the LRA conducts rituals in an effort to teach children that supernatural
powers will prevent their escape. Using shea butter, the LRA smears markings on its new
recruits, which the LRA insists brings children who attempt to escape back to the group
(Hovil and Lomo, 2004:30 escapee in Allen 2006, 68). Escapees informed Zarembo (1996)
that LRA rebels also believe that the mountains return escapees to the LRA for physical
punishment. Many children, who believe that the sacred items and markings return them to
the group if they attempt to escape, fear the consequences of an escape attempt even more
than they fear remaining within the group.
