By Nathan Etengu

Kapchorwa district council has appealed to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to allow farmers to take their cattle to the Mt. Elgon national park for refuge.

The district chairman, Nelson Chelimo, said the appeal was one of the resolutions passed during a council meeting held on Thursday.

“We want the national park authorities to allow our cattle to be grazed in the area as arrangements are made to deploy UPDF soldiers to the border areas with Karamoja and Pokot,” Chelimo said.

He said the Kenya Pokot still posed a threat to the district, adding that the councillors raised the appeal.

He said the Giriki River, where the soldiers were supposed to be based was still inaccessible after floods washed away a bridge along Kere River that linked the district to the planned settlement for the UPDF unit.

The acting park warden, Stonewall Kato, however, said he had not received the letter.

He said management still stood by a resolution to keep pastoralists out of the park.