ABSTRACT
The conflict in northern Uganda ended more than 15 years ago. Since this conflict was characterised by the abduction and forced recruitment of tens of thousands of children by the Lord’s Resistance Army, how to deal with and reintegrate former child soldiers was a big piece of the transitional justice puzzle in northern Uganda. However, years after the fighting ended, the transitional justice project in northern Uganda is far from complete, and those who were children are no longer. This chapter reflects on the intersection of time and children’s fighting in transitional justice using the case study of these child soldiers who were victimised by and contributed to atrocities committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army. While the children fought to protect themselves and contributed to armed fighting prior to and during their time with the Lord’s Resistance Army, they also had to take up ‘fights’ for proper recognition, autonomy, respect, and understanding of their fluid and progressing needs in the time since their return home.
