Museveni calls for fair measures in Teso cattle funds compensation

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President Yoweri Museveni, on Friday, August 15, 2025, made the Teso leaders happy after he announced that all the people of Teso must benefit from the ongoing compensation, as opposed to a few.

While meeting the Teso leaders, who were being led by the vice president Jessica Alupo at Soroti University, Museveni said that a lot of money has been paid out, but their impact has not been felt.

According to the deputy attorney general Jackson Kafuuzi, 11,056 people have been paid in the Teso sub-region to a tune of sh65.9 billion.

Kafuuzi noted that the ministry is left with 10,708 people who have not been paid, and they are demanding the government a tune of sh195.9b

He explained that Acholi has been paid sh43.6 billion to 4,836 people, while in Lango, they have paid sh48.7 billion to 12,389 people.

Despite Teso emerging as the region with the highest amount paid to claimants, it was not visible on the ground since even leaders were unable to tell who received the money.

To the shock of the president, one man from Ngora district confessed to the president that he was paid sh92 million, while two other people said they had each received sh7 million.

It's against that background that the president ordered that everyone be paid a flat rate and ordered that the vice president, Jessica Alupo, take the lead in formalising the ways of payment.

He, however, did not want the payments to be termed as compensation but rather rehabilitation and restocking.

“They don’t compensate for the war, and we don’t compensate for national disasters, so for us in Teso it's rehabilitation and restocking,” Museveni clarified.

The president was clear that the people who have already received money shall not be included on the list to be paid.

“If we paid a flat rate, the money that the Attorney General has given us here that they have paid out, we would have paid over 169,000 people,” Museveni remarked amidst cheers from the leaders.

The president has directed Alupo to form a team of people to help her with the modalities of payment, and that team should consist of Teso elders, women and youth. He wants the report in a month's time from now.

Vice President Jessica Alupo received by ministers and district officials. (Credit: Godfrey Ojore)

“From now on, let us have a realistic formula. We negotiate what is possible and manageable, then we fix something which each household can get. If we calculate and we find that we can give five cows to each family, it's well,” Museveni said amidst ululations from the leaders

The leaders of Teso welcomed the move, saying that it has been the thing the Iteso have been asking for.

“That is what I have been advocating, but I am happy that the president has finally accepted, because every family has lost. Those in court can be handled according to the law,” LC5 Serere Stephen Ochola said.

Some of the Teso leaders in different capacities attended the meeting. (Credit: Godfrey Ojore)

State minister for fisheries Hellen Adoa said that the move will relieve Iteso who have been in pain over the loss of their cows.

“Iteso are going to sleep well today because that has been the issue bothering them. I appreciate the president for the initiative,” Adoa said.

Alupo promised to start the process of getting a formula so that the region gets paid. She equally expressed gratitude to the president for coming up with that initiative.

Initially, there were 33,664 claimants that the ministry verified for compensation; however, many are complaining that they have not been paid.