Captain Ray Apire was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in 1993 from his home village of Lamola in Kitgum district, northern Uganda. He served as the LRA’s Chief Catechist (faith teacher) until he surrendered to the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) in 2004. Since then he has counselled new LRA returnees at the UPDF Child Protection Unit in Gulu.

Read more from Ray:

Accord Insight Issue 2: Engaging armed groups

Captain Ray Apire is a contributor to our Accord publication series and not a staff member of Conciliation Resources. The views expressed in the publication are their own and do not reflect the position of Conciliation Resources. We cannot share contributors' contact details.