Parliament Task Gov’t To Boost Security In North-Eastern Cattle Corridor
Lawmakers want the government to boost security in the North-Eastern cattle corridor to curtail the rustlers that continue to wreak havoc in the region.
The matter of continued cattle rustling was raised by Hon. Janet Okori-Moe (NRM, Abim district) during a plenary sitting on Thursday, 13 April 2023.
Okori-Moe said that the rustlers have resorted to attacking the population during the day, stealing both household property and cattle.
“Abim neighbours Agago and Otuke [districts], so when you hear Agago and Otuke crying, it means Abim [district] has cried enough,” Okori-Moe said.
She called for tailor-made disarmament for cattle rustlers in Abim, saying that the terrain there requires specially trained security personnel.
Hon. Lillian Aber (NRM, Kitgum district) described the rustling activities as a serious rebellion against the local population.
“Where there is raping of women, burning of houses and killing of people, this is a rebellion. Government should declare these people a rebel group and take action on them,” Aber said.
Hon. Joseph Koluo (Ind., Toroma County) proposed arming of locals and placing them in areas prone to raids so as to counter such attacks.
“Unknown rustlers raided Magoro Sub County recently, the situation is worrying and causing panic. It is planting season but people are now moving and living in camps,” Koluo said.
Hon. David Lagen (NRM, Agago district) urged the government to distribute iron sheets to nine sub-counties in Agago since the rustlers have resorted to burning grass-thatched houses in which the locals reside in.
“Government programmes are being interrupted and children are not going to school. The raiders stop these children on their way to school,” he said.
The Shadow Minister for Defence and also Erute County South MP, Hon. Jonathan Odur, said the insecurity in Karamoja and neighbouring districts calls into question the government’s commitment to protecting the populace.
“We have more than 6,000 soldiers in Somalia and the African Union can only foot the bills of 3,000. We have demanded that the 3,000 that are redundant be brought back because the question of Karamoja is a question of deployment. We have the capacity but where is the political will,” Odur asked.
The Minister of State for Defense, Hon. Marksons Oboth, said that the government is developing a strategy to resolve the insecurity in the North-Eastern region.
“We need to do it better than we are doing… It is fully-fledged illegal activity beyond cattle rustling,” he said.
The Third Deputy Prime Minister, Rukia Nakadama, urged the Defence Minister to come up with a detailed statement showing solutions to the matter.
Karamoja and neighbouring districts have for over two decades grappled with insecurity caused by cattle rustling activities, leading to the loss of lives and displacement of scores.
