Ombaci

Ombaci is a locality in Arua district in the West Nile region in Uganda. Ombaci, which loosely translated from the local dialect (Lugbara), means "enemity exists", a reference to conflicts of the area. It is located about 4 kilometers north west of Arua town. Ombaci is the area where you will find St. Joseph's College Ombaci.

Ombaci also has a refugee settlement center for refugees from South Sudan.

It also has one of the tallest satellite antennas in the East Africa region.

History

This area has a very dark history. In the early years, between 1920 and 1950, an Italian Catholic mission was set up in the area. This saw the establishment of St. Joseph's Technical college. Later, in the early 1970s, the technical school was transformed into a government aided secondary school.

Following the overthrow of Idi Amin Dada, the then President of Uganda, in 1979, who happened to have his origins there (Amin was a son of the soil, so to speak), Ombaci became the scene of a bloody massacre.

After Amin's overthrow during the war, many of his ethnic community sought refuge at the Catholic mission for fear of their lives. However, in 1982, forces of the newly installed government attacked the Catholic mission and killed over 2,000 civilians for belonging to the same ethnic group. Scores were killed in firing squads in both the Catholic mission and majorly in the secondary school which happens to share a common fence. The Catholic mission grounds have four large mass graves where the victims of this massacre were buried.