Cattle raiders kill pupil in Moroto

CRIME 

A young boy was on Sunday night shot dead by suspected armed Matheniko raiders in Moroto district.

The bandits also injured another boy before escaping with 36 head of cattle.

At the scene, the Police also recovered a yellow shirt that is said to have been worn by one of the Moroto prison inmates who escaped from detention recently.

The attack occurred at Singila village in Moroto Municipality at dusk, where the raiders shot and injured a juvenile herder, only identified as Lokut, who is currently admitted to the Moroto Regional Referral Hospital.

The attackers, armed with AK47 rifles, also reportedly shot dead a 10-year-old boy. The deceased has been identified as Faustino Longoli, a pupil of Eagle Nest Primary and Nursery School in Moroto district.

Longoli's father, Mark Lowakale, said: "I just heard bullets 30 minutes after leaving the kraal."

He described the incident as unfortunate for the family, saying the cattle were relocated to the slopes of Mt. Moroto after most of his land had been cultivated.

"The cattle have been in the same place for over a year," Lowakale said, adding that the adjacent hills that surrounded the kraals provided some security for the animals.

He appealed to the Government to find solutions to the deteriorating security, saying residents might soon lose cattle, which is their main source of livelihood.

Longoli's grandmother, Regina Kuri, advised parents against engaging their children in herding cows.