SUMMARY
Lord’s Army (in news media commonly referred to as Lakwenas, the Holy Spirit Movement II or Lakwena Part Two, thus pointing to the link with the defunct HSM) was a combined messianic- and rebel organization, fighting the Ugandan government in a conflict over government power in the late 1980s. The group had its origin in the defeat of fellow messianic rebel group HSM in November 1987. Both groups had its ethnic base among the Acholi population of northern Uganda, which had made up the bulk of the national army between 1980 and 1986. When Yoweri Museveni seized power in the country in January 1986, the former national army fled north, towards its home area, pursued by Museveni’s victorious forces. Subsequently, from mid-1986, Acholiland became the epicenter of a brutal conflict between the new national army and Acholi-based rebel groups. One of these was the prophetic HSM, which fought what it termed a “magical war” to combat evil in Uganda, something that manifested itself both as an external enemy - the government - and as an internal enemy, in the form of impure soldiers and witches. HSM was led by Alice Auma, and when her movement was defeated, her father, Severino Lukoya, set up the Lord’s Army to continue his daughter’s mission.
Just as with the HSM, Lord’s Army filled two distinct functions, one of a more religious character and one military and this was reflected in the organization of the group. Lord’s Army was divided into three departments: medical, religious and military, with the first one being clearly linked to the second, and the second one spilling in to the third. Severino portrayed himself as a spiritual messenger, sent to rescue the Acholi people, and his religious functionaries (so-called technicians and preachers) were able to treat diseases and cleanse people from evil. The group adopted many of the beliefs and rituals of HSM, and just like his daughter, Severino claimed to be possessed by many different spirits, with the main one being the holy spirit Lakwena, who claimed leadership of all other spirits. The military department was commanded by a Chief of Forces and operated more or less independently of the other two. Very limited information is available about the group, though, and it was not possible to establish the identity of the group’s Chief of Forces. What is clear, however, is that Severino himself refused to take part in the fighting, instead sending spirits as support. The soldiers were purified by Severino’s technicians and ordered to strictly follow a number of “Holy Spirit safety Precautions” for the purpose of battlefield success. As indicated earlier, Lord’s Army had its base among the Acholi people of northern Uganda and the group was made up of roughly 2000 Acholi fighters, many of which had previously fought under Alice Auma in HSM. Through his religious teachings, Severino also succeeded in attracting new followers in the region, thus strengthening the group. Lord’s Army operated solely in Kitgum district in the eastern part of the Ugandan part of Acholiland (the area traditionally inhabited by the Acholi stretches across the border into Magwi county in South Sudan).
The late 1980s in Ugandan Acholiland was a chaotic time. At the time of the birth of Lord’s Army, one major armed group - HSM – had just been defeated, and another one - UPDA – had been substantially weakened and was entering into peace talks with the government. However, one other substantial rebel organization remained active in the region, a group that at the time was called UHSA (Uganda Holy Salvation Army), but that would later take the name LRA. Even though both Lord’s Army and LRA were messianic movements with a common enemy, based among the Acholi population, there was no cooperation between them. Instead, their relationships were highly conflictual, as both Severino and LRA leader Joseph Kony claimed to be the rightful successor to Alice Auma.
In August 1988, Severino announced that he intended to expand the group’s operations to neighboring Gulu district, where UHSA under Kony was active. This was the beginning of the end for the group; Kony saw this as a potential challenge, and preempted it by imprisoning Severino and destroying his religious sites. Since Lord’s Army was so centered around Severino, his imprisonment caused the group to fragmentize and subsequently disappear.
