Karamoja starving but cattle rustling goes on
May 25, 2008
PEOPLE in Karamoja are eating rats, herbs and leaves as a result of drought and famine in the region.The famine has been worsened by cattle rustling.The New Vision will run a series of articles on the situation.
PEOPLE in Karamoja are eating rats, herbs and leaves as a result of drought and famine in the region.The famine has been worsened by cattle rustling.The New Vision will run a series of articles on the situation.
For the first article, Frederick Womakuyu travelled to the remote region, survived the crossfire as cattle rustlers battled the army, and now writes
It is 8 pm in Kaabong town. The sound of sporadic gunfire that would go on for the next two hours echoes across the town.
When I inquire about the cause, I am told a UPDF unit has been attacked by Karimojong warriors. A bystander says: “The Jie from Kotido have come to steal cattle. The main kraal is next to the army barracks.â€
To my surprise, the people in the town are not bothered and go about their business as usual. “This is normal here. Cattle rustling is like a game and gun battles are the order of the day,†says Gertrude Akullo, a field officer with the World Food Programme(WFP). “When you have been here long you get used to this kind of life.â€
As the fighting continues , tension grips me and other visitors in the town. A man from the lodge next to mine shouts: “The town is under attack. It seems the UDPF have been over-powered. The warriors are moving to the centre of the town. Let’s lock the doors,†he said.
But the locals assure the man that the raiders will not harm anyone except if one stands in their way.
As we make our way to the local restaurant for supper, however, the gunfire seems to get worse and the assurances are fading.
The sound of the AK47 seems to grow nearer and I want to return to our lodge, but Akullo says: “Here, the tradition is that you must never move backwards. Besides, the rustlers are not after us. Their intention is to steal cattle.
The warriors will go away if they succeed or if the army overpowers them.†The LC5 councillor for Kaabong sub-county, Philip Timu, adds: “The Jie have become a headache in Bokora. We have tried to stop the cattle rustling but they continue hurting us.We shall not let such a thing go unpunished. We shall step in if the army cannot manage,†he says.
Later that night, Timu confirms that the army has received reinforcements.
Thousands of weapons
The UPDF began a programme to disarm Karimojong warriors in May 2006. They estimated that more than 30,000 weapons were in the hands of cattle raiders across the region. But, if anything, their attempts to remove the guns have led to an escalation in violence.
More than 20 people were killed in October 2006, among them at least 16 soldiers, in a gun battle with Karimojong warriors, and vehicle ambushes are common on the roads
“The Karimojong have been armed for the past 20 years and use the guns in inter-clan and cross- border cattle rustling raids,†said Andrew Bagalana, of Amnesty International.
“Karamoja is a forgotten region,†said Moses Adengo, the LC3 chairman of Kalapata-Kaabong. “And even though the Government has tried to invest in schools here, parents need their children to help at home and with cattle.â€
Less than 20% of children in Karamoja are in school, compared to a national average of more than 80%.
Clan raids
Cattle rustling is a way of life in Karamoja, where the cow is at the centre of the value system. Back at the restaurant, Angan Lotule a waitress, who doubles as a charcoal seller in Kaabong, joins in our conversation.
She has seven children and they battle drought and conflict daily. Lotule grows sorghum and cowpeas to feed her family. “Drought means there is no harvest this year.
As for the charcoal, it is a hard business to sustain amid the insecurity of cattle rustling,†she says.
“Traditionally young men need cattle to pay bride price. So they often raid the cattle of a neighbouring clan.â€
But, where the rustling was once carried out with spears, now Karamoja is awash with rifles, which are much more efficient weapons.
Lotule, who lives in Lorengedwat village, says sometimes it is too dangerous to collect firewood to make charcoal, because if you meet the cattle raiders, they will kill you. As a result, she and her children go without food for days.
“Rustling makes it difficult to bring food in and out of the region. Even access to local markets is difficult,†says Rose Enyoru, a programme officer with the WFP.
“Many of the areas which are best for agriculture and grazing animals are just inaccessible to people because of the conflict.â€
The WFP has begun distributing emergency food aid to half a million people in Karamoja to see them through the drought. But the conflict continues in what is Uganda’s poorest region.
Consequences of raids
The next day, as we gather to find out what had happened between the army and the cattle rustlers, we see a group of 60 warriors bundled onto a truck. They have been stripped of their shirts and the Police are taking them to prison. “These are the bandits.
Six have died and we have recovered the cattle,†a policeman in plain clothes says . “There were no casualties for the army.â€
That day, I realise that cattle- rustling is a matter of life and death for the people of this region. It is difficult to see an end to the conflict in this area: Cattle-rustling is part of Karamoja’s rich traditions.
Analysts also say young Karimojong men have few alternatives and limited opportunities that might distract them or take them away from a life of cattle-rustling.
“The place has almost nothing. There are neither revenues nor other resources to sustain the youth,†says Bagalana. Cattle- rustling is the only worthwhile survival mechanism for them.
“They will do anything to get any animal they want,†Akullo concludes.
Casualties
MPs from the region claim 30 people have died of hunger-related illnesses
The Government says the deaths are from diarrhoea and other diseases
Background to the Problem
Teso, Karamoja, Lango and Acholi regions were affected by floods and drought last year and are facing an acute food shortage
Karamoja and Teso regions worst hit
Karimojong have resorted to eating rats and leaves
Karamoja has experienced drought since the 1960’s, since 2000, the phenomenon has become more frequent and disastrous
What is being done
The Government has earmarked sh3b to fight famine
The Government and WFP have distributed 360 metric tonnes of posho and 70 metric tonnes of beans
lState minister for disaster preparedness Musa Ecweru says the sh3b will buy food that will only last up to June
lThe situation has been worsened by the high demand for the limited food by neighbouring countries like South Sudan and Kenya
For the first article, Frederick Womakuyu travelled to the remote region, survived the crossfire as cattle rustlers battled the army, and now writes
It is 8 pm in Kaabong town. The sound of sporadic gunfire that would go on for the next two hours echoes across the town.
When I inquire about the cause, I am told a UPDF unit has been attacked by Karimojong warriors. A bystander says: “The Jie from Kotido have come to steal cattle. The main kraal is next to the army barracks.â€
To my surprise, the people in the town are not bothered and go about their business as usual. “This is normal here. Cattle rustling is like a game and gun battles are the order of the day,†says Gertrude Akullo, a field officer with the World Food Programme(WFP). “When you have been here long you get used to this kind of life.â€
As the fighting continues , tension grips me and other visitors in the town. A man from the lodge next to mine shouts: “The town is under attack. It seems the UDPF have been over-powered. The warriors are moving to the centre of the town. Let’s lock the doors,†he said.
But the locals assure the man that the raiders will not harm anyone except if one stands in their way.
As we make our way to the local restaurant for supper, however, the gunfire seems to get worse and the assurances are fading.
The sound of the AK47 seems to grow nearer and I want to return to our lodge, but Akullo says: “Here, the tradition is that you must never move backwards. Besides, the rustlers are not after us. Their intention is to steal cattle.
The warriors will go away if they succeed or if the army overpowers them.†The LC5 councillor for Kaabong sub-county, Philip Timu, adds: “The Jie have become a headache in Bokora. We have tried to stop the cattle rustling but they continue hurting us.We shall not let such a thing go unpunished. We shall step in if the army cannot manage,†he says.
Later that night, Timu confirms that the army has received reinforcements.
Thousands of weapons
The UPDF began a programme to disarm Karimojong warriors in May 2006. They estimated that more than 30,000 weapons were in the hands of cattle raiders across the region. But, if anything, their attempts to remove the guns have led to an escalation in violence.
More than 20 people were killed in October 2006, among them at least 16 soldiers, in a gun battle with Karimojong warriors, and vehicle ambushes are common on the roads
“The Karimojong have been armed for the past 20 years and use the guns in inter-clan and cross- border cattle rustling raids,†said Andrew Bagalana, of Amnesty International.
“Karamoja is a forgotten region,†said Moses Adengo, the LC3 chairman of Kalapata-Kaabong. “And even though the Government has tried to invest in schools here, parents need their children to help at home and with cattle.â€
Less than 20% of children in Karamoja are in school, compared to a national average of more than 80%.
Clan raids
Cattle rustling is a way of life in Karamoja, where the cow is at the centre of the value system. Back at the restaurant, Angan Lotule a waitress, who doubles as a charcoal seller in Kaabong, joins in our conversation.
She has seven children and they battle drought and conflict daily. Lotule grows sorghum and cowpeas to feed her family. “Drought means there is no harvest this year.
As for the charcoal, it is a hard business to sustain amid the insecurity of cattle rustling,†she says.
“Traditionally young men need cattle to pay bride price. So they often raid the cattle of a neighbouring clan.â€
But, where the rustling was once carried out with spears, now Karamoja is awash with rifles, which are much more efficient weapons.
Lotule, who lives in Lorengedwat village, says sometimes it is too dangerous to collect firewood to make charcoal, because if you meet the cattle raiders, they will kill you. As a result, she and her children go without food for days.
“Rustling makes it difficult to bring food in and out of the region. Even access to local markets is difficult,†says Rose Enyoru, a programme officer with the WFP.
“Many of the areas which are best for agriculture and grazing animals are just inaccessible to people because of the conflict.â€
The WFP has begun distributing emergency food aid to half a million people in Karamoja to see them through the drought. But the conflict continues in what is Uganda’s poorest region.
Consequences of raids
The next day, as we gather to find out what had happened between the army and the cattle rustlers, we see a group of 60 warriors bundled onto a truck. They have been stripped of their shirts and the Police are taking them to prison. “These are the bandits.
Six have died and we have recovered the cattle,†a policeman in plain clothes says . “There were no casualties for the army.â€
That day, I realise that cattle- rustling is a matter of life and death for the people of this region. It is difficult to see an end to the conflict in this area: Cattle-rustling is part of Karamoja’s rich traditions.
Analysts also say young Karimojong men have few alternatives and limited opportunities that might distract them or take them away from a life of cattle-rustling.
“The place has almost nothing. There are neither revenues nor other resources to sustain the youth,†says Bagalana. Cattle- rustling is the only worthwhile survival mechanism for them.
“They will do anything to get any animal they want,†Akullo concludes.
Casualties
MPs from the region claim 30 people have died of hunger-related illnesses
The Government says the deaths are from diarrhoea and other diseases
Background to the Problem
Teso, Karamoja, Lango and Acholi regions were affected by floods and drought last year and are facing an acute food shortage
Karamoja and Teso regions worst hit
Karimojong have resorted to eating rats and leaves
Karamoja has experienced drought since the 1960’s, since 2000, the phenomenon has become more frequent and disastrous
What is being done
The Government has earmarked sh3b to fight famine
The Government and WFP have distributed 360 metric tonnes of posho and 70 metric tonnes of beans
lState minister for disaster preparedness Musa Ecweru says the sh3b will buy food that will only last up to June
lThe situation has been worsened by the high demand for the limited food by neighbouring countries like South Sudan and Kenya