Karimojong cattle rustlers kill councillor

Police and the army have launched a joint hunt for a group of Karimojong cattle rustlers who reportedly shot dead a parish councillor attached to Amudat Town Council in Amudat District.

Mr Loburin Lomerinyang was killed at around 7pm in a deadly ambush allegedly done by the criminals at Moruita Sub-county in Nakapiripirit District.

"As he was going, he landed in an ambush of the cattle raiders who shot him dead," Mr Micheal Longole, the Karamoja regional police spokesperson told this publication on Thursday.

According to Mr.Longole, the deceased was pursuing his animals that the rustlers had taken after a raid at his home.

Police is now appealing to masses “to help security forces identify the criminals.”

Brutal cattle raids have recently increased in the Karamoja area, disrupting almost 15-years of relative stability following a successful government led-disarmament exercise.

“The insecurity in the sub-region has blocked people from carrying out trade. The cattle raids by Karimojong cattle rustlers resumed three years back and we are heading back to a previous situation where the region was a no-go zone,” James Lemukol, a local leader and a resident of Rengen Sub-county in Kotido District said.

Cattle raids in the area have continued amidst a presence of heavily armed military officers and police.

About two days ago, two cattle traders were shot and severely injured by the rustlers as they returned from Kaboong District where they had reportedly gone to buy cattle.