The Role of Spirit Messages in African Conflicts the Case of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda

Abstract

Whilst African civil conflicts are usually presented in the media as either political struggles, terrorism or mere banditry, in some at least there is a substantial spiritual element. Conflicts Zimbabwe, Mozambique and elsewhere in Af- rican have been shown to contain highly significant contributions from spirit forces intermediated by mediums, traditional healers, and prophets. Aspects of the Acholi insurgency in Northern Uganda have been initiated and led by spirit medi- ums, notably Alice Auma and Joseph Kony. Because Kony's career as an insurgent leader has been marked by atrocity and the lack of an explicit political programme, he has often been dismissed as a terrorist. It is argued here that he at least deserves the status of 'social bandit' as defined by Hobsbawm, and that his role as a voice for spirit messages is still a sig- nificant factor. It is concluded that without recognition of the role of spirit messages in African conflicts these conflicts will be imperfectly understood and their resolution will be correspondingly more problematic.