Suspected South Sudan rustlers raid Lamwo
A man herds cattle in Agoro Sub-county in Lamwo District last year. The area has been a hotspot for raids by South Sudanese cattle rustlers. PHOTO BY JULIUS OCUNGI
Lamwo- Residents of Agoro Sub-county in Lamwo District are living in fear after suspected armed South Sudanese cattle rustlers raided the area and looted several livestock at the weekend.
The raid reportedly happened at Logere Village in Irudi parish, some 40 kilometres from the porous Uganda-South Sudan border.
The LC3 chairperson, Mr Denis Onyon, told Daily Monitor in an interview that some of the looted animals were distributed by government to improve livelihoods of residents still recovering from the two-decade Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency in the region.
“Our farmers are no longer benefiting from the government programme of restocking cattle because the animals are being looted. We urge government to provide more security,” Mr Onyon said.
“How can our people’s lives improve if they cannot practise large-scale agriculture? They are being discouraged by the rampant invasion of cattle rustlers from South Sudan, many people now spend sleepless nights guarding their kraals so that they do not lose their animals,” he added.
The raid comes a week after unknown men stole four guns and live ammunition from Agoro Police Post.
Police recovered one of the guns, an AK47 riffle, from Kitgum Municipality after a foiled robbery.
Mr Jonathan Rutabingwa, the Resident District Commissioner, said security was heightened in the district and at the border points following loss of the guns, but they still have manpower shortages.
“It is true we deployed heavily in the area but since we do not have enough manpower, we cannot keep all the personnel in the same area. We believe that security in the area will be safe once the LDUs [Local Defence Units] are recruited,” Mr Rutabingwa said.
In June, the UPDF announced the recruitment of 2,000 LDUs in Acholi, Karamoja and West Nile regions to beef up security on the porous Uganda-South Sudan border.
Mr Rutabingwa said sometimes the cases of animal theft are reported late to the security personnel by farmers when the animals have been taken across the border.
“We are currently in talks with our South Sudanese counterparts who are doing all they can to trace the animals and bring them back to their owners,” he said.
