Abok Sub-County Designates Land for Development of Abok Massacre Memorial Tourist Site
Frank Semata 
Abok Sub-County Local Government has set aside one acre of land to transform the Abok Massacre site into a tourist destination.
During her recent visit to Abok Sub-County, Oyam District, Ms. Eunice Ngangeyo, a researcher from the Ministry of Tourism's Department of Museum and Monuments, surveyed the location.
The site, where over 4000 people once sought refuge and where a tragic incident occurred on June 8, 2004, witnessed the killing of 25 people, including 5 children, abduction of 26 individuals, and the destruction of 600 huts by a group of 100 LRA army members led by former commander Dominic Ongwen.
Ngangeyo disclosed that the Ministry of Tourism has officially designated the Abok Massacre site and other places as tourist attractions. Construction is scheduled to begin this year, starting with Abok and extending to other sites in the Lango sub-region, such as Barlonyo in Ogur Sub-County, Lira District. Barlonyo, where 121 individuals were killed by 70 LRA soldiers on February 21, 2004, is among the recognized sites.
Phillips Ogile Jakayo, LC 3 Chairperson of Abok Sub-County, Oyam District, welcomed the initiative, foreseeing the memorial site as a source of hope and solace for LRA war victims in Abok. He also expressed confidence in the potential of the tourist site to enhance revenue for the region.
Last year in May, the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced former LRA commander Dominic Ongwen to 25 years in prison. Ongwen was convicted of perpetrating crimes in northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005, notably in Abok, Odek, and Pajule Internally Displaced People camps.
