The WALK Creatives will hold the first awarding event at Kaunda Ground. Photos by Arnest Tumwesige
By Komakech Jimmy and Arnest Tumwesige
Gulu: Pamela Peace Anena, one of the former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) returnees, bears a powerful testimony of how peace messages conveyed through music touched her life while she was abducted and held under the harsh and rigid commands of the rebels in the bush.
The prolonged conflict and insurgency in northern Uganda had devastating effects on communities, impacting nearly everyone in one way or another.
Anena recalls that even in captivity, music played a critical role in offering comfort, encouragement, and emotional strength during moments of extreme hardship.
“When I was in the bush, the songs we listened to were soul-touching. They comforted and encouraged us during those difficult times of endurance,” she recounts.
Dispelling a common misconception, Anena notes that people in the bush had access to radios. “Do not think that people in the bush did not listen to the radio they did. When we listened to peace songs over the radio, they touched me deeply”.
“After my safe return home following a long captivity, I was driven by that passion to use singing as a tool for peace communication. That is how I became an artist to preach the peace gospel,” she explains.
One of the songs that profoundly inspired her was by artist Lady Grace, carrying a message calling on children and people in the bush to return home. According to Anena, the song helped bring many people back and changed lives by uniting communities and restoring hope amid despair.
WALK Creatives Take Charge
The WALK (West Nile, Acholi, Karamoja and Lango) Creative Arts Foundation has taken a significant step in acknowledging performing artists who sang for peace during the turbulent years of insurgency.
The initiative recognises their creative contribution to peace communication during a time when hope was scarce. The awards event, which will honour peace-corps artists across different categories, is scheduled for January 1, 2026, at Kaunda Grounds in Gulu City.
During the maiden event, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni will be awarded for supporting the creatives in the North. Others to be awarded are Gen. Caleb Akandwanaho (Rtd) alias Salim Saleh the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation, Sylvia Owori the WALK patron, journalists, and other contributors to peace.
Speaking calmly during media engagement, Anena says the WALK Creatives recognition awards comes at a crucial time when the region continues to yearn for sustained peace, despite guns having largely fallen silent.
At the disturbing point of the current prevailing in the region are the pockets of young people commonly known as “Aguu” mitting physical attacks to unsuspecting residents in some of the busy towns of Northern Uganda, a worrying situation that requires an integrated approach to address the problem.
Earlier Struggles
In 2007, Music for Peace, a network of local artists dedicated to harnessing the power of music for peacebuilding and positive social change in Africa, established a recording studio in Gulu. The studio enabled artists to freely record peace-themed songs that contributed meaningfully to peacebuilding efforts in the region. However, the initiative could not be sustained as it relied heavily on donor funding.
Two decades ago, present-day Gulu City served as one of the few safe havens as the Lords Resistance Army terrorised communities through abductions and brutal killings of civilians. Residents were forcibly displaced from their homes and confined to camps for over 22 years, one of the most harrowing experiences in the region’s history.
Throughout this dark period, creative performing artists like Geoffrey Opiyo Twongweno continued to use their talents to sing messages of hope, resilience, and unity often without any form of payment.
Opiyo, a legendary traditional Lakubukubu singer who will headline the event, says the initiative by WALK is a bold and timely step towards sustaining peace in the region.
According to statistics released by WALK executives, the foundation currently has over 5,000 registered members across its creative catchment areas.
Opiyo has urged the public to turn up in large numbers for what is expected to be the biggest New Year crossover event ever witnessed in the region, featuring meaningful and entertaining performances by artists registered under the WALK Creative Arts Foundation.
The Uniqueness of the Awards
Unlike most music awards in Northern Uganda that largely celebrate commercial success, popularity, or current chart-topping hits, the WALK Creative Arts Awards are rooted in peacebuilding and historical contribution. Engineered by own Creatives, the awards specifically recognise artists who used music as a tool for reconciliation, hope, and survival during the height of the LRA insurgency, often performing without pay and at great personal risk.
Launch of WAK SACCO
Solomon Aboda, the chairperson of the WALK Creative Arts Foundation, says the event will also mark the official launch of the WALK Creative SACCO for registered and eligible members.
Aboda said once the launch is done, eligible members will now be able to receive loans and venture into productive activity. He has also encouraged the public to join the WALK Creative Arts Foundation and benefit from the goodwill already established by creatives in northern Uganda.
The WALK Creative Arts Foundation, comprises nine domains among which include the performing artists, promoters, publishers, fashionistas, song writers, promoters and among others. It is supported by the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, and recently received UGX 1 billion to enhance the creative sector.
Expected dignitaries
The event will bring together various government agencies supporting the creative sector, including the Uganda Registration Services Bureau, Uganda Performing Rights Society, Operations Wealth Creation, political leaders from the four sub-regions, and presidential candidates.
