Prime
Nakapelimoru: Scenic settlement where gun violence precedes agony
Part of Nakapelimoru biggest settlement in Nakapelimoru sub county. PHOTO SIMON PETER EMWAMU
What you need to know:
In 2001, the government undertook a disarmament exercise to rid the Karamoja subregion of illegal arms and ammunition. The disarmament, carried out by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), has been conducted in phases and has brought peace and security to the region. However, one of the consequences has been the large number of widows left behind by men who chose to fight the army over voluntarily giving up their arms. The widows of Nakapelimoru are now facing several challenges as Simon Peter Emwamu reports.
As we stroll through the low-laying rangelands of Nakapelimoru village,13 kilometres east of Kotido town, we encounter dozens of men, women, and children moving along the sandy footpaths. They carry thorny branches on their heads, to be used as fences around their manyattas (group of huts).
The elderly, some in their 70s, rest under the shade of the acacia trees lining the village paths. They lie down, their heads cushioned on small traditional stools. Here, they wait for the women to return from the fields to prepare the day’s meal. Nakapelimoru Settlement in Nakapelimoru sub-county, is celebrated as the largest settlement in the Karamoja subregion.
Elders take a rest in Nakapelimoru settlement in Kotido its regarded as the largest settlemnet in East Africa. PHOTO/SIMON PETER EMWAMU
The community consists of over 28,000 inhabitants and is a destination for tourists enroute to Kidepo National Park in Karenga district. Like in other parts of the region, several children in the settlement do not go to school. The girls babysit their younger siblings while the boys graze cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, and at times, camels.
The burden entrusted to the boys helps them appreciate that livestock is the major source of livelihood in the Jie ethnic group. The level of household secrecy here is visible in the design of the wooden and thorny fences tightly packed together. However, amid the scenic beauty that Nakapelimoru offers, lie bitter tales of gun violence and raids which have left over 900 women widowed.
Widowed Maria Naburo at her home in Nakapelimoru preparing residual from local beer to be used as food. PHOTO SIMON PETER EMWAMU
These widows tell stories of sheer neglect from the government in addressing their plight. There is little affirmative action to elevate the situation of widowed women as compared to the funds that have been injected into supporting the reformed karachunas (young warriors). Myees Kale has five children and three grandchildren. Her husband was killed in 2021 in Kamion village where he had gone to grazing cattle. She alleges that he was shot dead by soldiers who were looking for raided cattle.
The family managed to retrieve his body. However, the cattle were not recovered. Kale’s manyatta, comprising two huts, was razed down by an arsonist a couple of months ago. “Those huts contained my entire stock of sorghum grain. Part of it was for food, while the rest was to be planted. Today, I have nothing to eat. I live on the dregs of the local brew, which I mix with a little grain,” she says, a faraway look in her eyes as she gazes upon the ruins.
Young girls in Nakapelimoru carrying thorns to be used as fence barriers. PHOTO SIMON PETER EMWAMU
Kale reported the matter to observers from the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC). The observers visited Nakapelimoru sub-county on a fact-finding mission. However, they never returned. “I have been informed about government programs that can help me but I do not have a national identity card. Before my husband’s death, I had plenty of milk, ghee from our 40 heads of cattle, and a casual labourer who tilled the land for me,” laments the 50-year-old widow. Today, Kale is destitute and cannot afford to take her children to school. In this society, justice is only dispensed traditionally by the elders.
One needs a lot of money to access lawyers to get justice in cases against the government. “I am stressed. I have to rebuild the burnt huts, and I have to wake up every day to look for food to feed my children,” she says. Maria Naburo is going through a similar situation. She says her husband was killed six years ago during a cattle raid. Since then, she has never known peace.
Sisters selling local brew known as Abutia to elders. PHOTO SIMON PETER EMWAMU
She has to fend for the eight children left behind by her slain husband. “I have never gotten justice. The non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that used to offer support to the destitute widows have scaled down their operations. Once in a while, we receive food rations from the church or the World Food Programme. Life without a husband is the worst,” she laments. Due to the insecurity, Naburo cannot leave behind her children to go to the farming settlement like her peers. Her only hope is the return of the NGOs.
Widows vs karachunas
Grace Akol Itai, the district LCV woman councilor representing Nakapelimoru sub-county, told Daily Monitor that several widows are desperate for help, living from hand to mouth. Akol hints that while most of their men died during the raids, others were killed during the disarmament process. In 2001, the government launched a forceful and peaceful disarmament exercise to combat violence and lawlessness that had for many years reigned in the Karamoja subregion.
Grace Akol Itai, the LC5 councilor for Nakapelimoru sub county in Kotido district.PHOTO SIMON PETER EMWAMU
The illegal possession of guns by the Karimojong had perpetuated cattle rustling within and outside the region. The first phase of the exercise ended in 2021, “Some men became notorious and hostile during the disarmament exercise. They did not take up the amnesty granted to them to encourage them to return the guns peacefully. Several times, they engaged the army in direct combat and many died,” Akol says.
Akol, who also serves as the secretary for health and community education, says some widows who were inherited by husbands’ brothers suffered a double fate, as those who inherited them were also arrested. “As female leaders who want to see peace reign, we formed women peace forums, which conduct meetings where men are sensitised about the dangers of gun violence and cattle raids,” Akol adds.
A total of 4000 karachuna are still in detention in several government prisons. Their cases are before military courts. On January 31, 2025, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment that nullified, with immediate effect, the prosecution of civilians in the General Court Martial and military courts. “The counseling sessions for the widows are carried out quarterly, depending on their magnitude of desperation, as judged by the local leaders.
The mothers have also started savings groups using money they get from selling vegetables and local brew,” Akol explains. She adds that although some residents can access funds from the Parish Development Model (PDM), not everyone is benefiting because of the large population in the settlement.
Koyen Loguti whose children were killed by guns a couple of years ago turns blind , he has grandchildren left behind by the sons to care for. PHOTO SIMON PETER EMWAMU
What government can do
Perhaps, the magnitude of the effects of gun violence is best told by Koyen Loguti who is taking care of his orphaned grandchildren. The 89-year-old and his wife are both visually impaired. Loguti has lost some of his children to rustlers and he is yet to come to terms with their deaths. “If it was not for the gun violence and the killings, maybe my children would be taking care of my wife and me,” he says as he leans on a thorny tree along the Nakapelimoru - Kenya road.
He adds that some youth died in open fires within the settlement lit by raiders, while others died under the wrath of the army. Stephen Koriang, the youth councilor representing Nakapelimoru, says the settlement has over 900 widows. He adds that each day presents bitter struggles for the women. “Most of the malnourished children in the settlement are being raised by widowed mothers. Those who received PDM cash and invested it in piggery, suffered losses after a swine fever outbreak hit the settlement. I always appeal to my fellow youth to use the available amnesty to return the guns in exchange for amnesty certificates,” he says.
Pastor Moses Obura, a resident of Watakou village in Nakapelimoru sub-county, explains that the problems in the settlement are so vast that they cannot be reduced to the plight of widowed mothers. “Mothers do not have access to health facilities. I believe women’s economic empowerment should be prioritised, more than that of the karachunas. In this settlement, having more than one meal a day is a luxury for any family,” he says.
Elders take a rest in Nakapelimoru. PHOTO SIMON PETER EMWAMU
Rife
The burden of mothers widowed as a result of gun violence is not unique to Nakapelimoru Settlement. The numbers across Kotido district are in the thousands, according to Charles Ichogor, the resident district commissioner. “All is not lost, though. After the government disarmament exercise and amnesty to the youth, we have had a period of relative calm. The government is using this time to push for development at the individual and community level,” he says.
Ichogor adds that in the PDM component, for every Shs100 million dispensed, 30 percent is directly targeted towards benefiting women. “These interventions are not only limited to PDM. We have the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP). So, women have a huge basket of funds to tap into. It is only a matter organising them in their localities so that the money is channeled to them conveniently,” he says. The Kotido RDC adds that women who have established businesses and qualify for larger amounts of money can access the Generating Growth Opportunities & Productivity for Women Entrepreneurship (GROW) project. He hints that there are NGOs that are also offering support to the widows.
“Some men became notorious and hostile during the disarmament exercise. They did not take up the amnesty granted to them to encourage them to return the guns peacefully. Several times, they engaged the army in direct combat and many died,”
Grace Akol Itai, district LCV woman councilor representing Nakapelimoru sub-county, Akol says.
If it was not for the gun violence and the killings, maybe my children would be taking care of my wife and me,
Koyen Loguti who is taking care of his orphaned grandchildren.
