Bodies of S. Sudan cattle raiders repatriated after months in Yumbe mortuary
The handover followed a high-level meeting between Ugandan and South Sudanese authorities held in Kajokeji County, South Sudan, on September 4, 2026, where the two sides agreed to release and repatriate the remains.
The bodies were transported to the Uganda-South Sudan border at Afogi Customs, where a team of South Sudanese authorities received them for onward transportation and burial. (Photos by Adam Gule)
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Authorities in Yumbe district have handed over the bodies of two South Sudanese cattle raiders to South Sudanese authorities for burial, months after the remains were kept at Yumbe Regional Referral Hospital mortuary.
The handover followed a high-level meeting between Ugandan and South Sudanese authorities held in Kajokeji County, South Sudan, on September 4, 2026, where the two sides agreed to release and repatriate the remains.
Yumbe resident district commissioner Sulaiman Lubwama Bukya said one of the bodies was that of a South Sudanese cattle raider who was killed during a clash in December 2025, while the second was of another raider killed in a separate clash in April 2026.
Bukya said a Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier was also killed in the April clash.
He said the delay in handing over the bodies was due to a lack of mutual agreement between the two communities, caused by poor communication and coordination between the two countries following different incidents.
He noted that the Kajokeji engagement finally addressed and resolved the matter, with authorities agreeing to release the bodies and hand them over to South Sudanese authorities for burial.
"We were for a joint cross-border security meeting in Kajokeji on Friday, and the leaders agreed that the bodies of the South Sudanese cattle raiders be released immediately as a sign of peace," he said.
Bukya confirmed that the bodies were still in their original form and had not decomposed due to proper care and monitoring by health experts at Yumbe Regional Referral Hospital.
"The bodies had been kept at Yumbe Regional Referral Hospital mortuary under close care and monitoring throughout the period. As we release them, they are in their original state with no decomposition," said Bukya.
The bodies were transported to the Uganda-South Sudan border at Afogi Customs, where a team of South Sudanese authorities received them for onward transportation and burial.
According to authorities, the handover is expected to ease some of the logistical and humanitarian challenges associated with keeping the remains at the Ugandan facility for an extended period.
Olema said keeping the bodies for months had placed an additional burden on the hospital, particularly because the mortuary requires a constant supply of electricity to preserve the remains and maintain safe conditions.
He said the prolonged stay of the bodies also required the hospital to continuously monitor the mortuary and ensure that appropriate conditions were maintained.
Yumbe district chairman Abdulmutalib Mahamoud Asiku described the handover as the beginning of peace and unity between the two communities.
He added that it marked the end of months of uncertainty surrounding the remains and followed renewed engagement between authorities on both sides of the Uganda-South Sudan border.
Asiku called for peace among people along the border and urged counterparts to continue sensitising their communities, as well as those on the Ugandan side, to ensure that the communities live in harmony.
He revealed that Ugandans had lost more than 1,000 cattle in what they described as armed looting by suspected South Sudanese cattle raiders.
Asiku said a number of cattle had not yet been recovered and that the owners were counting losses because South Sudanese authorities claim that the raiders are rebels along the border.