Product Code Database
Alice Auma (1956 – 17 January 2007) was a Ugandan Mediumship who, as the head of the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM), led a Millennialism rebellion against the government forces of President Yoweri Museveni from August 1986 until November 1987. The primary spirit she purportedly channelled was that of a dead army officer called Lakwena, meaning "messenger", who those from the Acholi people ethnic group believe to be a manifestation of the Christian Holy Spirit. The combined persona of Alice Auma channelling the spirit Lakwena is often referred to as " Alice Lakwena". Auma's HSM was ultimately defeated in November 1987.
Before the defeat of Tito Okello in the Ugandan Bush War, Auma was one of many spirit mediums working near the town of Gulu as a minor oracle and spiritual healer. She worked in the midst of the chaos of the anti-National Resistance Army (NRA) insurgency of the Uganda People's Democratic Army and the increasingly brutal counter-insurgency operations and tactics of the NRA. Later legend holds that on 6 August 1986, Lakwena ordered Auma to stop her work as a diviner and healer, which was pointless in the midst of war, and create the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) to fight evil and end the bloodshed. This divine mission required the retaking of the capital of Kampala. Thus, the Acholi people would redeem themselves from the violence they had collectively imposed on the civilians of the Luwero triangle and initiate a paradise on earth. A letter to local missionaries explained the transition:
The good Lord who had sent the Lakwena decided to change his work from that of a doctor to that of a military commander for one simple reason: it is useless to cure a man today only that he be killed the next. So it became an obligation on his part to stop the bloodshed before continuing his work as a doctor.
Auma claimed that Lakwena required that she be possessed by numerous other spirits to achieve its goals. This was unusual in Acholi spirit behavior.
At this time, there was a perceived spiritual crisis in the area, coinciding with the threat posed by soldiers from the NRA-led government. The increased level of societal tension and number of deaths were attributed to witchcraft.
After a series of victories, Auma led the HSM south out of the Acholi heartland of northern Uganda towards Kampala. There, she garnered much support from other ethnic groups who had grievances with Yoweri Museveni's government. However, subsequent military setbacks suffered by the HSM prompted some followers to accuse Auma of being a witch and of using spirits for destructive ends. As the HSM suffered its final defeat under artillery fire in the forests near Kampala, Auma fled and claimed that Lakwena had left her.
|
|
