It was all tears of joy among residents of Domuru village, Maracha district, after two suspects accused of murder returned home after 13 years on remand. Jino Enzama and Angelo Adima were arrested in May 2013 after a man was reportedly killed in a mob action and his body dumped in the area the next morning.
They were part of the six suspects who were arrested on the fateful day. They included two women who are still in jails in Koboko and one in Kotido government prison. The suspects were later taken to Koboko, arraigned before the court, and remanded to Gbukutu government prison, before others were spread to other prison facilities in the country.
Hundreds of Community members who gathered on Thursday along the road could not hold back tears as they welcomed their sons, cheering and singing, while others swept the road to receive the convoy that drove from Arua to Oleba with the two freed suspects.The relatives and family members of the two equally wept with disbelief as they hugged the two men they thought they would never see again.
Jino Enzama, a 62-year-old peasant farmer, who served his 13 years in Arua Prison, thanked God for protection and urged the youth never to indulge in wrongdoing, adding that prison is not an easy place to stay in because all your plans at home will collapse.
Enzama said, despite this, he also learnt good skills like making soap and weaving baskets, which he will use for earning a living as he gradually reintegrates back into the community he left more than a decade ago. Angelo Adima, 61 years old, who was transferred and served 13 years in a government prison from Kitgum and later Kotido district, said he never believed a day would come for him to be back home.
He, however, advises people to love one another instead of nursing hatred, adding that life in prison is not desirable.Speaking in Lugbara , Aida Onziru, a daughter of Adima, said she was heartbroken when her father was imprisoned in different prison facilities, and she could not afford to visit him.
Onziru, now with three children, expressed joy as she finally saw her father at home, adding that the pain and lack of support forced her to drop out of school and get married. However, Reverend Father Dominic Acema, Curate of Oleba Catholic Parish, who presided over the welcome back thanksgiving Mass for the two men, urged the people to be law-abiding and desist from all sorts of hatred and revenge against each other, but always to forgive.
“We are delighted to see our sons here come back. This is a miracle in itself, let’s love to forgive one another as Christ did and avoid revenge, because it’s a sin before God”. Fr. Acema said. Giving an example of his arrest one time by a Police Man, who later came to him for a blessing, Fr. Acema warned that those who lied against the two men and others who are still in prison need to repent and ask for forgiveness from God.
According to some legal experts, dozens of suspected criminals continue to ‘rot’ in prison facilities on remand due to various reasons, including: Revenge, Political Witch-Hunt, Land Conflicts, Ignorance of the Law, and Lack of representation by lawyers, among other reasons. URN