Soroti priests appeal to government over Karimojong warriors

By Richard Otim CATHOLIC priests of Soroti diocese have asked the government to continue efforts to disarm the Karimojong warriors, saying a single exercise would not be effective.The priests were meeting Teso members of parliament at a justice and peace conference in Soroti recently. They said the process should remain active until possession of illegal guns in the region was impossible.They said having a definite time frame for the disarmament of the warriors would only slow down the exercise. “The Government aims at retrieving 40,000 guns from Karamoja yet the people who live in Karamoja estimate that the region has 100,000 illegal guns. What will happen to the rest?” Fr. Boguslaw Zero, the executive secretary for the Justice and Peace Commission of Soroti said. In a seven-page-report, the priests recommended that the Karimojong be prohibited from grazing in Teso and its neighbouring areas until disarmament is completed. “Allowing them to come to Teso now will not favour the resettlement exercise,” the report said.