Description

Tension is growing in the Karamoja sub region following multiple incidents of cattle rustling and killings. In Kaabong district, ten (10) people from the Dodoth community were killed during raids by suspected Turkana warriors from Kenya in the sub counties of Lodiko, Kalapata and Morulem. A number of cattle were also stolen during the raids. The warriors were armed with fire-arms, bows and arrows. Police has been heavily deployed in the region and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) is also patrolling the Uganda –Kenya border to prevent further raids.
It is believed that the Turkana are revenging after several incidents of theft by the Dodoth in previous months. There have also been reported incidents of cattle thefts by the Turkana Pastoralists in Losilang village, in Kotido district.
In Moroto District, a conflict over grazing land and water at Kobebe dam has led to attack and injury of a number of Turkana and Karimojong pastoralists who are now admitted at Matany hospital in Moroto district. The fight which involved the Turkana of Kenya, Dodoth of Kaabong, Jie of Kotido and the Matheniko of Moroto involved the use of sticks, bows and arrows and was defused by the arrival of UPDF soldiers. Since the draught situation deteriorated in North-West Kenya in the last couple of months, more than seventy thousand (70,000) Turkana pastoralists have entered the country with about one hundred thousand (100,000) livestock. This has led to increased tension and frequent attacks with community members accusing the Turkana of encroaching on their grazing land and stealing their livestock.