Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T10:32:22.522Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Militant Islamists or borderland dissidents? An exploration into the Allied Democratic Forces' recruitment practices and constitution*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2015

Lindsay Scorgie-Porter
Lindsay Scorgie-Porter*
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario, King's University College, 266 Epworth Avenue, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 2M3
*
Email: lscorgi@uwo.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Descriptions of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – a relatively resilient rebel group in the Congo–Uganda borderland – are almost solely focused upon the rebellion's Islamic extremist characteristics. Through looking specifically at the ADF's recruitment practices, this paper seeks to problematise existing accounts of the group's constitution. It discusses how Islamic extremism has had a significant influence on various aspects of ADF recruitment, and therefore helps to explain particular dimensions of the ADF's composition. Nevertheless, this paper demonstrates that focusing on the role of Islamism alone, leaves a large part of the ADF's story untold – such as the important role played by recruitment networks associated with marginalised and militarised ex-combatants, or the populations of disenfranchised youth in the borderlands. Indeed, unresolved political and socio-economic injustices amongst the people of the Rwenzories have been just as significant motivating factors for joining the rebels as have Islamic sources. Thus, this paper argues that the ADF's recruitment practices and constitution cannot be sufficiently analysed without adequate recognition of the rebel group's position within a borderland context.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 53 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 1 - 25
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Special thanks to Christopher Clapham and Devon Curtis for suggestions towards this paper, as well as the extremely helpful comments of two anonymous reviewers. The fieldwork for this article was conducted during my PhD at the University of Cambridge, and was carried out in Uganda and Congo throughout 2009, 2010 and 2011 (with a total of 14 months in the field). It was financed by the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, Gonville & Caius College, UAC of Nigeria Travel Fund Grant, Cambridge Political Economy Society Trust Grant, the Round Table Commonwealth Award for Young Scholars, and the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada. Any errors are the author's alone.

References

REFERENCES

African Rights. 2001. Avoiding an Impasse: understanding the conflicts in Western Uganda. Kampala: African Rights.Google Scholar
Amanyire, S. 1998. ‘ADF rebels recruit in Bushenyi’, The Sunday Monitor, 4.1.1998.Google Scholar
Amooti, T.F. 1999. ‘Mukono youths top ADF ranks’, The Crusader, 4.3.1999.Google Scholar
Baguma, R. & Thawite, J.. 2009. ‘Mumbere crowned King of Rwenzururu’, The New Vision, 19.10.2009.Google Scholar
Beni Lubero Online. 2011. ‘Révélation: les opérations Ruwenzori, cheval de troie de l'occupation de Beni et Mambasa’, Beni Lubero Online, 22.10.2011.Google Scholar
Bøås, M. 2004. ‘Uganda in the regional war zone: meta-narratives, pasts and presents’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 22, 3: 283–303.Google Scholar
Bogere, H. 2009. ‘Al-Shabaab fighters training in Uganda’, The Observer, 20.12.2009.Google Scholar
Bollingtoft, M.L. 2006. Conflict Dynamics in Kasese District: study on community perceptions on violent conflicts in Muhokya, Bugoye, Kisinga and Bwera Sub-Counties. Kasese: NAYODE.Google Scholar
De Temmerman, E. 2007. ‘ADF rebellion: guerrilla to urban terrorism’, The New Vision, 21.5.2007.Google Scholar
De Waal, A. 2004. ‘The politics of destabilisation in the Horn, 1989–2001’, in De Waal, A., ed. Islamism and its Enemies in the Horn of Africa. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Facci, S. 2009. ‘Dances across the boundary: Banande and Bakonjo in the twentieth century’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 3, 2: 350–66.Google Scholar
Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2011. UN Security Council. S/2011/738.Google Scholar
Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2014a. UN Security Council. S/2014/42.Google Scholar
Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2014b. UN Security Council. S/2014/428.Google Scholar
Hovil, L. 2003. Displacement in Bundibugyo District: A Situation Analysis. Kampala: Faculty of Law, Makerere University. <http://www.refugeelawproject.org/working_papers/RLP.WP10.pdf>, accessed 26.4.2014.Google Scholar
Hovil, L. & Werker, E.. 2005. ‘Portrait of a failed rebellion: an account of rational, sub-optimal violence in western Uganda’, Rationality and Society 17, 5: 5–34.Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch. 1999. Hostile to Democracy: the movement system and political repression in Uganda. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch. <http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/uganda/>, accessed 26.4.2014.,+accessed+26.4.2014.>Google Scholar
International Crisis Group. 2012. Eastern Congo: The ADF-NALU's lost rebellion . Nairobi/Brussels: International Crisis Group. <http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/central-africa/dr-congo/b093-eastern-congo-the-adf-nalus-lost-rebellion.aspx>, accessed 2.5.2014.,+accessed+2.5.2014.>Google Scholar
IRIN. 2014. ‘Briefing: ADF-NALU militia in DRC’, IRIN, 27.1.2014. <http://www.irinnews.org/report/99538/briefing-adf-nalu-militia-in-drc>, accessed 2 May 2014.,+accessed+2+May+2014.>Google Scholar
Jourdan, L. 2008. ‘Ambiguous borders: the case of Rwenzori’, in Pennacini, C. & Wittenberg, H., eds. Rwenzori: histories and cultures of an African mountain. Kampala: Fountain Publishers, 285–300.Google Scholar
Kabarole Research and Resource Centre. 2002/2003. The Effect of Trauma on the Resettlement of Internally Displaced People in Bwamba County, Bundibugyo District (Western-Uganda). Fort Portal: Kabarole Research and Resource Centre.Google Scholar
Kananura, S.K. 2005. ‘The ideological question in Uganda as a primary aspect of internal conflict’, in Mukwaya, A., ed. Uganda's Fundamental Change: domestics and external dynamics of conflicts and development. Kampala: Makerere University.Google Scholar
Karugaba, M. 1997. ‘Bashir, defence minister aiding rebels – Dr. Kiyonga’, The Monitor, 11.1.1997.Google Scholar
Katombe, K. & Mvano, C.. 2014. ‘Congo army attacks Uganda Islamist rebels in lawless east’, Reuters, 17.1.2014. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/17/us-congo-democratic-rebels-idUSBREA0G0TF20140117>, accessed 2 May 2014.,+accessed+2+May+2014.>Google Scholar
Kavanagh, M.J. 2010. ‘Congo army clashes with Ugandan rebels displace 90,000 civilians, UN says’, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 30.7.2010. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-30/congo-army-clashes-with-ugandan-rebels-displace-90-000-civilians-un-says.html>, accessed 26 April 2014.,+accessed+26+April+2014.>Google Scholar
Kyambogo University. 2002. The Impact of a Hostile Environment on Children Living in Camps for Internally Displaced Persons in Bundibugyo District. Kampala: Kyambogo University.Google Scholar
Lumu, D.T. 2013. ‘Uganda: Al-Shabaab fighters joining ADF-army’, The Observer, 14.7.2013. <http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&id=26405:al-shabab-fighters-joining-adf-army>, accessed 2 May 2014.,+accessed+2+May+2014.>Google Scholar
Mbalibulha, B.S. 2008. ‘The dynamics of ethno-political relations in the Rwenzori Region, 1900–2000’. Kampala, master's thesis.Google Scholar
Mueller, T. 2014. ‘Understanding Eastern Congo's ADF-NALU rebels’, Enough, 29.1.2014. <http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/understanding-eastern-congos-adf-nalu-rebels>, accessed 2 May 2014., accessed 2 May 2014.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Mueller,+T.2014.+‘Understanding+Eastern+Congo's+ADF-NALU+rebels’,+Enough,+29.1.2014.+,+accessed+2+May+2014.>Google Scholar
Mugisa, A. 2008. ‘ADF rebels regrouping in Eastern Congo’, The New Vision, 18.7.2008.Google Scholar
Muhame, G. 2012. ‘Investigation: inside rebel activities in Uganda, Congo’, Chimp Reports, 12.3.2012. <http://www.chimpreports.com/index.php/special-reports/4101-investigation-inside-rebel-activities-in-Uganda-congo.html?print>, accessed 26 April 2014.,+accessed+26+April+2014.>Google Scholar
Muhangi, J.K. 2004. ‘International humanitarian law and its application in a situation of internal armed conflict: a case of ADF armed rebellion in Uganda’. Kampala, master's thesis.Google Scholar
Mulingwa, R. 1998. ‘Call back your ADF children, Minister Isoke tells Baganda’, The Monitor, 7.10.1998.Google Scholar
Mwenda, A.M. 2010a. ‘Security find new clues on the terror attacks’, The Independent, 25.7.2010a.Google Scholar
Mwenda, A.M. 2010b. ‘Uganda: terror in Kampala’, The Independent, 18.7.2010.Google Scholar
Namutebi, J. 2000. ‘Baganda, Basoga dominate ADF – Kavuma’, The New Vision, 4.1.2000.Google Scholar
Nantulya, P. 2001. Exclusion, Identity and Armed Conflict: a historical survey of the politics of confrontation in Uganda with special reference to the independence era. Pretoria: Politics of Identity and Exclusion in Africa: From Violent Confrontation to Peaceful Cooperation Conference.Google Scholar
Nkuutu, F. 2003. Situation Analysis of Kasese and Bundibugyo. Kampala: International Rescue Committee.Google Scholar
Prunier, G. 1997. ‘The geopolitical situation in the Great Lakes Area in light of the Kivu Crisis’, Refugee Survey Quarterly 16, 1: 1–25.Google Scholar
Prunier, G. 2004. ‘Rebel movements and proxy warfare: Uganda, Sudan and the Congo (1986–99)’, African Affairs 103, 412: 359–83.Google Scholar
Prunier, G. 2009. From Genocide to Continental War: The ‘Congolese’ conflict and the crisis of contemporary Africa. London: Hurst and Company.Google Scholar
Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2014. UN Security Council. S/2014/157.Google Scholar
Reuters. 2014. ‘Congo, Uganda pursue plans to target ADF-NALU rebels’, Reuters, 13.1.2014. <http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/13/congodemocractic-uganda-rebels-idINL6N0KN2SU20140113>, accessed 2 May 2014.,+accessed+2+May+2014.>Google Scholar
Romkema, H. 2007. Opportunities and Constraints for the Disarmament and Repatriation of Foreign Armed Groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo: the cases of the FDLR, FNL, and ADF/NALU. <http://www.mdrp.org/PDFs/MDRP_DRC_COFS_Study.pdf>, accessed 26 April 2014.,+accessed+26+April+2014.>Google Scholar
Spittaels, S. & Hilgert, F.. 2008. ‘Mapping conflict motives: Eastern DRC’, International Peace Information Service, 3·2008.Google Scholar
Sserwanga, M. & Nzinjah, J.. 1996. ‘Invaders planned Islamic state’, The New Vision, 21.11.1996.Google Scholar
Staff Writers. 2010. ‘You cannot involve my kingdom into politics’, The New Vision, 24.4.2010.Google Scholar
Terdman, M. 2006. ‘Tabliqi Groups in Uganda – The Allied Democratic Forces’, Islam in Africa Newsletter 1, 4. <http://www.e-prism.org/images/Islam_in_Africa_Newsletter_-_No4_-_August06.pdf>, accessed 26 April 2014.,+accessed+26+April+2014.>Google Scholar
The Independent Team. 2010. ‘ADF rebels intensify recruitment in Iganga’, The Independent, 7.12.2010.Google Scholar
Titeca, K. 2009. ‘The ‘Masai’ and miraa: public authority, vigilance and criminality in a Ugandan border town’, Journal of Modern African Studies 47, 2: 291–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Titeca, K. & Vlassenroot, K.. 2012. ‘Rebels without borders in the Rwenzori borderland? A biography of the Allied Democratic Forces’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 6, 1: 154–76.Google Scholar
Tusasirwe, B. 1996. ‘Uganda's worst case scenario’, The New Vision, 21.11.1996.Google Scholar
Tusiime, C. 2008. ‘ADF recruits in DR Congo’, The New Vision, 21.4.2008.Google Scholar
Womakuyu, F. 2010. ‘Bundibugyo in fear over rumours of ADF regrouping in DR Congo’, The New Vision, 7.4.2010.Google Scholar
Congolese journalist, Congo, August 2011.Google Scholar
Congolese think-tank representative, via email, August 2010.Google Scholar
Female development cooperative, Uganda, May 2010.Google Scholar
Former ADF members, Uganda, May 2010a.Google Scholar
Former ADF members, Uganda, May 2010b.Google Scholar
Former ADF members, Uganda, September 2010c.Google Scholar
Former ADF members, Uganda, September 2010d.Google Scholar
Humanitarian agency employee, Uganda, August 2010.Google Scholar
INGO representative, Congo, September 2011.Google Scholar
INGO representative, Uganda, April 2010.Google Scholar
Local development co-operative, Uganda, September 2010.Google Scholar
Local government official, Congo, August 2011.Google Scholar
Local government official, Uganda, May 2010b.Google Scholar
Local government official, Uganda, May 2010c.Google Scholar
Local government official, Uganda, September 2010a.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Uganda, May 2010.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Congo, September 2011.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Uganda, January 2011.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Uganda, September 2010a.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Uganda, September 2010b.Google Scholar
Senior analyst with international think-tank, via telephone, June 2012.Google Scholar
Tribal community leader, Uganda, September 2010.Google Scholar
Ugandan government official, Congo, September 2011.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Congo, August 2011a.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Congo, August 2011b.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Congo, September 2011.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Uganda, April 2010.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Uganda, January 2011.Google Scholar
Women's ADF survivor group, Uganda, September 2010.Google Scholar
Congolese journalist, Congo, August 2011.Google Scholar
Congolese think-tank representative, via email, August 2010.Google Scholar
Female development cooperative, Uganda, May 2010.Google Scholar
Former ADF members, Uganda, May 2010a.Google Scholar
Former ADF members, Uganda, May 2010b.Google Scholar
Former ADF members, Uganda, September 2010c.Google Scholar
Former ADF members, Uganda, September 2010d.Google Scholar
Humanitarian agency employee, Uganda, August 2010.Google Scholar
INGO representative, Congo, September 2011.Google Scholar
INGO representative, Uganda, April 2010.Google Scholar
Local development co-operative, Uganda, September 2010.Google Scholar
Local government official, Congo, August 2011.Google Scholar
Local government official, Uganda, May 2010b.Google Scholar
Local government official, Uganda, May 2010c.Google Scholar
Local government official, Uganda, September 2010a.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Uganda, May 2010.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Congo, September 2011.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Uganda, January 2011.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Uganda, September 2010a.Google Scholar
NGO representative, Uganda, September 2010b.Google Scholar
Senior analyst with international think-tank, via telephone, June 2012.Google Scholar
Tribal community leader, Uganda, September 2010.Google Scholar
Ugandan government official, Congo, September 2011.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Congo, August 2011a.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Congo, August 2011b.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Congo, September 2011.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Uganda, April 2010.Google Scholar
United Nations official, Uganda, January 2011.Google Scholar
Women's ADF survivor group, Uganda, September 2010.Google Scholar