Attack Leaves Sabiny Villages Desolate.
Apr 13, 2003
THE quietness at most homesteads shouts at full volume. Disaster! The attack left over 2,300 people without shelter, food, or anything to call their own. <br>
By Gerald Businge, Rashid Muzungyo and Nathan Etengu
THE quietness at most homesteads shouts at full volume. Disaster! The attack left over 2,300 people without shelter, food, or anything to call their own.
An estimated 1,000 head of cattle were taken, including maize and beans, which families stored in plenty.
What the Kenyan Pokot couldn’t carry, they set on fire.
Over 30 people were killed in Friday’s bloody raid on the Sabiny by Kenyan Pokot where about 300 houses were burnt.
The dawn attack on Suam, Bukwa and Kabei, left homesteads littered with charred and shot bodies of children, women and old men.
The most affected areas were Kapnandi, Kwirwot, Sennendet and Kapterwo.
Almost 12 hours after the attack, cries of distressed Sabiny tore the air as smoke from the burning houses disappeared into the air.
Local leaders claim that 400 home guards were taken away recently to join the UPDF, leaving the area vulnerable to attacks.
The residents called for the government to give them guns or return those they had so that they protect themselves. But the resident district commissioner, Tezira Jamwa, said the Government cannot arm the residents since they have ever “misused the gunsâ€. She said the cruel attack by the Pokot is believed to be a response to the April 1 and 4 raids by the Sabiny (people of Kapchorwa) on the Pokot. She said the April 1 and April 4 raids were never reported to the district authorities.
Jamwa said in a telephone interview that “some Sabiny first crossed to Kenya in two separate incidents and stole over 200 head of cattle and shared among themselves.â€
She said the Kenya Pokot had in turn demanded for the unconditional return of the cattle without which they would “ teach the Sabiny a lessonâ€.
The governments of Uganda and Kenya signed an agreement in 1998 to disarm the traditional cattle rustling tribes in their respective countries, but this has not been effective as cross-border raids have continued.
This is the worst raid the area has sustained since 1983 when 27 people were killed, houses burnt and several cattle taken in a similar raid by the Pokot.
The Red Cross and ActionAid have said there is urgent need for humanitarian assistance to provide basics to the people.
The Army Commander, Maj. Gen. James Kazini has directed UPDF 3rd Division Commander Col. Sula Semakula to send troops to Kapchorwa to boost security. Ends
THE quietness at most homesteads shouts at full volume. Disaster! The attack left over 2,300 people without shelter, food, or anything to call their own.
An estimated 1,000 head of cattle were taken, including maize and beans, which families stored in plenty.
What the Kenyan Pokot couldn’t carry, they set on fire.
Over 30 people were killed in Friday’s bloody raid on the Sabiny by Kenyan Pokot where about 300 houses were burnt.
The dawn attack on Suam, Bukwa and Kabei, left homesteads littered with charred and shot bodies of children, women and old men.
The most affected areas were Kapnandi, Kwirwot, Sennendet and Kapterwo.
Almost 12 hours after the attack, cries of distressed Sabiny tore the air as smoke from the burning houses disappeared into the air.
Local leaders claim that 400 home guards were taken away recently to join the UPDF, leaving the area vulnerable to attacks.
The residents called for the government to give them guns or return those they had so that they protect themselves. But the resident district commissioner, Tezira Jamwa, said the Government cannot arm the residents since they have ever “misused the gunsâ€. She said the cruel attack by the Pokot is believed to be a response to the April 1 and 4 raids by the Sabiny (people of Kapchorwa) on the Pokot. She said the April 1 and April 4 raids were never reported to the district authorities.
Jamwa said in a telephone interview that “some Sabiny first crossed to Kenya in two separate incidents and stole over 200 head of cattle and shared among themselves.â€
She said the Kenya Pokot had in turn demanded for the unconditional return of the cattle without which they would “ teach the Sabiny a lessonâ€.
The governments of Uganda and Kenya signed an agreement in 1998 to disarm the traditional cattle rustling tribes in their respective countries, but this has not been effective as cross-border raids have continued.
This is the worst raid the area has sustained since 1983 when 27 people were killed, houses burnt and several cattle taken in a similar raid by the Pokot.
The Red Cross and ActionAid have said there is urgent need for humanitarian assistance to provide basics to the people.
The Army Commander, Maj. Gen. James Kazini has directed UPDF 3rd Division Commander Col. Sula Semakula to send troops to Kapchorwa to boost security. Ends