Locals go days without food in pursuit of livestock compensation cash
War claimants crowd at Equity Bank, Lira City to receive their money last week. The situation at Equity is not any different from other banking institutions. PHOTO | BILL OKETCH
Dozens of elderly people have gone without food for days as they camp at banks in Lira City to receive their livestock compensation cash.
Thousands of people who lost livestock during the two-decade insurgency in Teso, Lango and Acholi sub-regions started receiving their compensation cash in March this year after President Museveni launched the exercise.
Government allocated Shs150 billion towards livestock compensation for the three sub-regions.
Claimants who travelled from far off places in Lango to pick their monies from various banking institutions in Lira City are now spending sleepless nights without food as they impatiently wait to receive the money.
Equity Bank, Post Bank Uganda and KCB are fully packed as elderly women and men struggle to seek the attention of bank officials. The money can only be accessed via the banking halls from teller points, not the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
Ms Katorina Auma, 80, a resident of Boroboro ward in Lira City East Division, on Monday covered a distance of 7km on foot with the hope of getting her payment from Equity Bank. But by 1pm, she was yet to be attended to.
“I have been sitting here since morning without water or food. If they fail to attend to me today, I will not go anywhere. I will sleep here until I get my money,” she said.
Even after waiting for a long period of time, not everyone is lucky to access the payment. Those with inactive bank accounts are being turned away and their money is being bounced back, Mr Ben Otim Ogwete, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Lira District, explained.
“The total number of the war claimants whose records were sent to the office of the Attorney General was 2,729 and all were paid. But the unfortunate thing is that many accounts of the war claimants were inactive as many of them had opened their accounts a long time ago; and as much as we had been telling them to and verufy, some never did,” Mr Ogwete said.
On Saturday, Ms Jasinta Akello, 78, a claimant from Alebtong District, went to St Augustine Church in Lira City and asked to clean in exchange for food. This was after spending three days at the bank without food. The following day of Sunday, fundraising was conducted in the church and Christians contributed money to transport her back home.
