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Rediscovering Mato Oput: The Acholi Justice System and the Conflict in Northern Uganda 31fering. The third objection focuses on a perceived lack of impartiality on the part ofthe ICC. The last objection highlights the local sentiment that Kony feel the pain thathe has caused, which the local population feels is a more severe punishment than theICC is likely to issue. 27 It appears therefore that those who wish forgiveness for theLRA at the same time do not advocate what they consider to be too lenient a punishment.28 This raises questions concerning what people really mean when they talk offorgiveness and punishment.Conceptualising what constitutes ‘punishment’ in the context of the northernUganda conflict is a difficult task. In westerners’ understanding, punishment is generallyequated with criminal justice and in accordance with the rule of law. According toadvocates of traditional mechanisms, however, the Acholi community interprets punishmentmore broadly. In traditional Acholi society, shame, mockery, jeering, socialrejection, and compensation are adequate forms of punishment. 29 According to oneelderly woman, punishment consists of a feeling of remorse that compels the wrongdoerto ask for reconciliation and repentance. 30The protracted nature of the conflict in the north and the suffering to which peoplehave been subjected makes for a compelling and urgent need for peace. Accordingto Barney Afako, the unacceptably high costs and bitter experiences of the war havecaused Ugandans to reassess approaches to resolving conflict. 31 This is premised onthe view that criminal prosecutions might undermine peace processes and that situationsof an ongoing conflict, involving mass atrocities and thousands of perpetrators,require restorative measures of a less rigid nature. 32 Mato oput, the Acholi traditionalpeace and justice mechanism, was proposed as part of local peace initiatives.MATO OPUTThe nature and practice of mato oput as an instrument for conflict resolution and reconciliationamong the traditional Acholi are based on the Acholis’ understanding ofconflict as a life-threatening phenomenon. 33 Life is to be valued and celebrated. Life,among the Acholi, means a network of relationships. Life without community and relationshipsis meaningless. Thus, an individual exists in and for the community. Noone stands independently and survives. 34 Apart from the living members of the community,the spirits of the dead play an important role in the life of the ongoing community.Moral order is measured in terms of the maintenance of communal harmony,which requires being in accord with the living and deceased members of the community.Evil, immorality, crime, or violence, therefore, is understood as an act of break-27. Interview, Margaret Ajayo, Lapuje IDP camp, Kitgum, 22 May 2008.28. Interview, Samuel Ojwaka, Amor district, 10 April 2008.29. Interview, elderly man, Labuje IDP camp, Kitgum, 12 March 2008.30. Interview, elderly woman, Gulu, 4 March 2008.31. B. Afako, ‘Reconciliation and justice: “Mato oput” and the amnesty act’, Reconciliation Resources,www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/northern-uganda/reconciliation-justice.php.32. N. Roht-Ariaza, ‘Amnesty and the International Criminal Court’ in D. Shelton (ed.), InternationalCrimes, Peace, and Human Rights: The Role of the International Criminal Court (Ardsley, New York,Transnational Publishers, 2002), 79.33. Interview, Samuel Odong, Gula, 18 March 2008.34. Interview, Matthew Odida, Amor district, 12 April 2008.