Karamoja cattle raids: Teso leaders ask govt to arm youth
St Francis Catholic Church Acumet in Kapelebyong District where residents fled for safety. PHOTOS / SIMON PETER EMWAMU
What you need to know:
- The Arrow Boys were local vigilantes drafted in Teso, and turned out a successful auxiliary force to complement the Uganda People’s Defence Forces to ward off Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) attacks.
Some political leaders in Teso Sub-region have asked the government to arm their youth to fight suspected cattle rustlers from neighbouring Karamoja, citing laxity of security forces.
Mr Geoffrey Omolo, the chairperson for Katakwi District, yesterday said they have a formidable number of former soldiers and ex-Arrow Boys who, if placed under able command, can defend residents and their property better than state security agencies.
The Arrow Boys were local vigilantes drafted in Teso, and turned out a successful auxiliary force to complement the Uganda People’s Defence Forces to ward off Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) attacks.
“Since I assumed work as a district head, what has preoccupied me are matters of security, which ideally should be done by the army and other security organs,” Mr Omolo said.
His Kapelebyong counterpart, Mr Francis Akorikin, said the security forces deployed in the district are stretched, have run out of logistics, and are unable to pursue the suspected Karimojong warriors.
“For the last two days, I have been using the district car to transport the thin force. I don’t have enough fuel to do district work, yet as an army, I believe they (soldiers) are well-funded,” Mr Akorikin said.
He wondered who is supposed to protect citizens and their property since requests to the military to respond to security distress are met with demand for fuel.
“The government we voted for has let us down, the support people have and the trust they had for this government has been abused, the situation is out of control, it is now a humanitarian issue,” Mr Akorikin said.
He said since the start of this year, warriors have stolen 635 head of cattle, killed five residents in Okungur Sub-county, and injured several others.
Efforts to speak to the army and police leadership by press time were futile.
However, last week, the defence and military spokesperson, Brig Felix Kulayigye, in a statement hinted that they had killed more than 100 cattle rustlers in the past few months, and the operation to disarm warriors is on course.
Locals spend a night at St Francis Catholic Church in Acumet.
Similarly, the Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Ms Goretti Kitutu, told KFM, our sister radio station, that the threats posed by the warriors were being exaggerated, saying pockets of insecurity registered in the sub-region are “isolated”. Both officials spoke after suspected Turkana warriors ambushed and killed government geologists mapping mineral potential in the area last month.
Despite the assurances, suspected Karimojong warriors raided Kapelebyong on Tuesday, forcing residents to flee and seek safety at a distant church.
Following the attack, Brig Joseph Balikudembe, the commander of the UPDF 3rd Division based in Moroto District, said the situation was “under control”.
The government launched a fresh disarmament operation, code-named Usalama Kwa Wote (Kiswahili word that means peace for all) in Karamoja on July 13 last year to remove residual illicit guns, and end the spate of gun violence in sub-region and neighbouring areas.
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Mr Michael Okello, the chairperson of Apopong Village in Kapelebyong Sub county, accused security forces of ignoring their plight.
Last month, President Museveni admitted that security in districts bordering Karamoja needed to be boosted, citing gaps as soldiers in some military barracks were redeployed.
