The Acoli Question: Why Rocco Paco Matters

The Acoli people, once a proud and leading community, now face a grave existential crisis. What was once a vibrant and confident society has been reduced to a shadow of its former self.

This collapse, known as Too Paco, is seen in deep poverty, broken families, collapsing education, violence, alcoholism and despair

The devastation of Acoliland is both material and intangible. On one side, poverty, land disputes, poor health and a broken economy strip away visible progress. On the other side, values, identity, discipline and hope have been eroded, creating a silent but far deeper wound.

The collapse of these intangible foundations has left Acoli in a moral, spiritual and identity crisis.

This tragedy is not without cause. Decades of trauma, from the targeting of Acoli leaders under Amin, to the confiscation of cattle, to the horrors of the LRA war and over twenty years of forced internment in camps, have left scars that run through generations.

While the guns fell silent in 2006, no meaningful programme of recovery has ever been put in place. The void has left the collapse to fester, unchecked

Against this backdrop, the Acoli intelligentsia and leaders have come together with a self-challenge, known as Doro Paco. This is a labour of love, a non-partisan, non-political, pan-Acoli movement. It is a call to restore good conduct, solidarity, integrity and discipline, to rebuild education and livelihoods, and to heal a traumatised community.

Rocco Paco is the vehicle for this mission of rebuilding, restoration and transformation. With resolve, unity and goodwill, we can reverse this collapse and create a future of healing, hope and pride for the Acoli people and for Uganda as a whole