Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2008, Page 29
Additionally, many children express fear of Joseph Kony‘s alleged supernatural powers and
his ability to sense deviant thoughts. Charles, fifteen, believes that Kony ‗reads minds‘: ―‗If
a rebel who was a captive had ill feeling against Kony, Kony would be told by the spirits and
would kill him. Spirits would also tell Kony who tried to escape‘‖ (quoted in HRW 1997, 34).
Many abductees fear that Kony will read their minds and punish them if they think of
running away (Allen 2006, 19). As a result of the combination of supernatural claims,
psychological abuse, and physical threat, the costs associated with exiting the LRA are
extremely high.
The LRA also creates exit costs by forcing new recruits to conduct ‗committed actions‘—
tasks that both hinder children‘s psychological return to their communities and promote
group loyalty (Hundeide 2003, 119). In the LRA, children conduct committed actions before
they reach base camp. The LRA often makes children kill abducted adults and family
members to prove that there is no possibility of returning home. Killings during the trek to
camp exemplify the necessity of obedience (there have been very few exceptions of children
escaping death after they disobey or refuse to kill [Legget 2001, 30-32]).14 Furthermore,
many costs associated with committed actions are closely related to Acholi traditional
religion and local taboos.
One example of a spiritual consequence that relates to Acholi traditional religion involves
contamination with cen (dangerous polluting spirits of those killed by soldiers [Allen 2006,
34]). Some commanders tell abductees that if they refuse to kill, then the commanders will
remove the head of the victim and force the children to carry it (escapee in Allen 2006, 69).
Many Acholi believe that carrying the head of a victim transfers the cen of that victim onto
the carrier (Allen, 2006:69). Therefore, many Acholi children kill in part to avoid cen (Allen
2006, 70).
Other examples include accounts that the LRA forces children to commit cannibalism, blood
drinking, and blood smearing. These atrocities traumatize the youthful perpetrators and
shock their former communities, making the potential return to normal life nearly
impossible. When commanders force children to drink their victims‘ blood, they assure the
children that if they try to escape the spirit of that victim will kill them (Judah 2004, 63).
Nassan Opiyo tells of his initiation:
‗After killing the boy I was ordered to let the blood come out and to drink it
and I did it. I was told that if I did not do it I would be killed myself. The
rebels caught the blood in a large leaf and other captives were also forced to
drink it. They said, ―If you try to escape, the spirit of the boy will follow you
wherever you go and kill you‖‘ (quoted in Judah 2004, 62).
Opiyo‘s testimony exemplifies how the LRA forces children to break cultural ties while it
provokes a fear of the supernatural.
Furthermore, an escapee named Susan alleges that the LRA forced her to kill a boy who
tried to escape, and then forced all the children in her faction to smear his blood on their
bodies so that they would not fear death (HRW 1997, 1). Some children, such as J.O., even
testify to eating human flesh. J.O. explains that, after killing two UPDF soldiers, his
commander stated, ―The new recruits can now feed themselves on these two soldiers‖
(quoted in Amnesty International 1997, 22). UPDF soldiers confirm allegations of
cannibalism with a report from 2002 that they found rebels who had killed people, ―chopped
them up and stuffed them into a twenty liter cooking pot‖ (Wendo 2003, 1818).15 As a
result of having committed these atrocities, the death of their families, and their fear of
supernatural reparations, many children in the LRA feel that any return to their old lives is
impossible (Doom and Vlassenroot 1998, 25).16
Additionally, many children express fear of Joseph Kony‘s alleged supernatural powers and
his ability to sense deviant thoughts. Charles, fifteen, believes that Kony ‗reads minds‘: ―‗If
a rebel who was a captive had ill feeling against Kony, Kony would be told by the spirits and
would kill him. Spirits would also tell Kony who tried to escape‘‖ (quoted in HRW 1997, 34).
Many abductees fear that Kony will read their minds and punish them if they think of
running away (Allen 2006, 19). As a result of the combination of supernatural claims,
psychological abuse, and physical threat, the costs associated with exiting the LRA are
extremely high.
The LRA also creates exit costs by forcing new recruits to conduct ‗committed actions‘—
tasks that both hinder children‘s psychological return to their communities and promote
group loyalty (Hundeide 2003, 119). In the LRA, children conduct committed actions before
they reach base camp. The LRA often makes children kill abducted adults and family
members to prove that there is no possibility of returning home. Killings during the trek to
camp exemplify the necessity of obedience (there have been very few exceptions of children
escaping death after they disobey or refuse to kill [Legget 2001, 30-32]).14 Furthermore,
many costs associated with committed actions are closely related to Acholi traditional
religion and local taboos.
One example of a spiritual consequence that relates to Acholi traditional religion involves
contamination with cen (dangerous polluting spirits of those killed by soldiers [Allen 2006,
34]). Some commanders tell abductees that if they refuse to kill, then the commanders will
remove the head of the victim and force the children to carry it (escapee in Allen 2006, 69).
Many Acholi believe that carrying the head of a victim transfers the cen of that victim onto
the carrier (Allen, 2006:69). Therefore, many Acholi children kill in part to avoid cen (Allen
2006, 70).
Other examples include accounts that the LRA forces children to commit cannibalism, blood
drinking, and blood smearing. These atrocities traumatize the youthful perpetrators and
shock their former communities, making the potential return to normal life nearly
impossible. When commanders force children to drink their victims‘ blood, they assure the
children that if they try to escape the spirit of that victim will kill them (Judah 2004, 63).
Nassan Opiyo tells of his initiation:
‗After killing the boy I was ordered to let the blood come out and to drink it
and I did it. I was told that if I did not do it I would be killed myself. The
rebels caught the blood in a large leaf and other captives were also forced to
drink it. They said, ―If you try to escape, the spirit of the boy will follow you
wherever you go and kill you‖‘ (quoted in Judah 2004, 62).
Opiyo‘s testimony exemplifies how the LRA forces children to break cultural ties while it
provokes a fear of the supernatural.
Furthermore, an escapee named Susan alleges that the LRA forced her to kill a boy who
tried to escape, and then forced all the children in her faction to smear his blood on their
bodies so that they would not fear death (HRW 1997, 1). Some children, such as J.O., even
testify to eating human flesh. J.O. explains that, after killing two UPDF soldiers, his
commander stated, ―The new recruits can now feed themselves on these two soldiers‖
(quoted in Amnesty International 1997, 22). UPDF soldiers confirm allegations of
cannibalism with a report from 2002 that they found rebels who had killed people, ―chopped
them up and stuffed them into a twenty liter cooking pot‖ (Wendo 2003, 1818).15 As a
result of having committed these atrocities, the death of their families, and their fear of
supernatural reparations, many children in the LRA feel that any return to their old lives is
impossible (Doom and Vlassenroot 1998, 25).16
