Captain Awere may not be a familiar name to many people living in Lagile in northern Uganda. There, he is only known as Odong Nelson. And up until a month ago, many of those who knew Nelson presumed that he was dead.
But Nelson, who should be around 38-years-old today, is reportedly still alive according to former members of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who returned from captivity earlier this year. They are the ones who know him as Captain Awere, the name Nelson adopted to protect his identity while in the bush.
Okot Charles learns about defection fliers dropped by Invisible Children and how they are distributed over areas where LRA combatants, including his brother Nelson, are believed to be operating.
“I have been thinking of him ever since then,” Nelson’s brother Okot Charles said, of Nelson’s abduction.
Nelson was abducted in the middle of the afternoon. He had come home from school and was instructed to go to the fields to harvest groundnuts. At the time, there were rumors that the Lord’s Resistance Army was in the area.
Nelson, always stubborn, decided to rest at home instead of listening to his parents’ instructions to join them in the fields. Charles, known by the nickname Coca-Cola, explains that he went ahead while Nelson stayed behind at the home.
That is where the rebels found him.
Not long after Nelson was abducted, there was an attack on a large group of LRA fighters. Abductees who managed to escape from that group confirmed that one child was killed during the fighting. They thought it was Nelson.
However, two months later, rumors circulated that Nelson led an attack on his very own community. This was proven false, however, also by returnees.
Over the next few years, Nelson’s family sporadically heard about him. In 2001, he was deemed to be alive, in 2004, alive but having sustained a serious injury. Today, after years of hearing nothing about Nelson, Walter, another recent returnee, reported that Nelson was alive and in Central African Republic, seen just before Walter’s escape in December.
“I have been thinking and worried and praying that if [Nelson] is still alive, he should come back,” Charles said.
Nelson’s mother hopes that he will return from Central African Republic soon as she is aging and not doing well.
When Invisible Children’s communications team met with Nelson’s family in early March, it was the first time in years that they have heard any news of Nelson.
“When Odong was taken, I felt so sad. During his stay in captivity, I worry all the time. Hearing about others returning causes pain but until I hear very clearly that he is dead, I will not do any traditional rituals,” Nelson’s mother Ajulina Lamunu said. “I had given up most hope, but I did not hear [anything] so maybe there was no one to bring the news that he was dead or alive.”
During a Come Home Radio message that Lamunu recorded for Nelson, she explained to him that she is “alive but weak” and hopes that he will return soon to see his siblings, wife and children.
Abalo Christine, Nelson’s “wife” from their time in captivity together.
Nelson’s wife, Abalo Christine, was “married” to him while in captivity. She now lives with his family and wishes for his return, as well as the return of others still in the bush. Sharing the following message:
“Odong if you are hearing my voice, if you hear my voice for real my husband, come and care for your children with whom you sent me home. We are together with Okot ‘Coca Cola. He is the one supporting the children. You too, come and support them,” she said.
Nelson’s sons were born in the bush as their parents moved with the Lord’s Resistance Army. They have since returned home to Uganda with their mother.
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