By Geresom Musamali and Nathan Etengu

Karimojong leaders in Kotido district have disowned a report by Save the Children which claimed that 66 children were recently killed by the UPDF during an operation against cattle rustlers at Lokitelebu.

Save the Children, an international non-governmental organisation, claimed that it talked to 256 people who revealed that the children were either shot, ran-over by armoured cars or crushed as animals stampeded during the February 12 raid.

Kotido LC5 chairman Paul Lomanio and Jie county MP Peter Abrahams Lokii also disowned the report on Saturday at Lopei UPDF detachment.

They were witnessing the hand over of 453 head of cattle that the army recovered from the Jie and Bokora cattle rustlers.

Lokii said his people only asked the UPDF to stop the use of helicopter gunship in fighting cattle raids and during the disarmament exercise.

The army said it only used the gunship to flush out the Bokora who killed six people and injured four others in an attack on Jie kraals in Panyangara sub-county.

The UPDF 3rd Division commander, Col. Patrick kankiriho, and Lt. Col. Michael Ondoga of the 407th Division, also denied the allegations and promised to assist whoever wanted to verify them.

Ondoga pledged to convince the district council to invite Save the Children officials for a meeting.

“Who are these children? What are their names and who are their parents. We should therefore be availed with such information.”

The defence minister, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, met officials from the charity whom he said apologised.

He said he had talked to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and challenged the organisation to explain the whereabouts of the children’s graves.

“They never saw the graves or bodies. They relied entirely on the interviews held with about 200 respondents.”

Kiyonga said the charity reneged on an earlier agreement to share negative developments with the government and find a solution. before going public.