Lad Uses Gospel Music to Fight African Warlord

by Mwaka Suzie
(Mbale, Uganda)

Wars are usually fought on many different fronts, using different means & tactics and that's why Mwiine Derrick, a Ugandan boy, chose a more friendly way to engage rebels in his country... a forgiveness song.

As he grew up in a more stable, peaceful southern part of Uganda, he was touched by media reports about a civil war of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern part of Uganda that had raged on for years by claiming thousands of innocent lives in the entire northern part of the country. Children and women were the most affected.

It's that war that inspired Mwiine Derrick to compose a song title; FORGIVE ME OH GOD, which he dedicated to all warlords in the whole world including Joseph Kony, the leader of LRA who has since been militarily dislodged from northern Uganda and indicated by the International court of Justice (ICC) in The Hague.

Mwiine Derrick recorded 'Forgive me oh God' in 2007 when he was ten years old and in 2008 he managed to send twenty CDs of his song to the high command of LRA in the bush through a woman who was believed to be Kony's close relative with a message appealing to Joseph Kony to stop killing innocent people. Unfortunately, the lady has never contacted Mwiine Derrick even after the war had ended.

Derrick has 6 songs to his name which he recorded up to 2008 when he prematurely, ended his singing career. Mwiine Derrick confesses that he has never attended any Music lessons although he managed to record six good songs namely:

1. forgive me oh God
   
2. I won’t fear death
   
3. thank you my Lord
   
4. the pearl of Africa
   
5. happy birthday
   
6. education is the key to success.

All the songs of Mwiine Derrick are inspirational.

You can listen through this link to his forgiveness song.