Sculpted by Ugandan artist David Kigozi and commissioned by the Dutch Embassy to commemorate their educational projects in Northern Uganda, “Pillar of Peace” was unveiled in July 2009. It was also a call to abandon arms. It depicted a life-sized boy and girl — former child soldiers — standing behind a neatly stacked pile of books.
When the statue was dedicated, at their feet were five abandoned guns, symbolized a shift away from war and conflict. Four of the guns appear to have been stolen.
The child soldiers of Uganda are members of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that has been kidnapping young people since 1987 to fill out their ranks.
