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Moroto, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Elders in Karamoja have rejected a report by police about the recovery of raided cattle from the region.
According to the Moroto Regional Police Spokesperson Michael Longole, the police and the joint security forces in Karamoja have recovered 9,118 heads of cattle out of the 10,200 that were reported to have been raided or stolen.
Longole said the recoveries had improved due to additional security personnel and coupled with the use of choppers deployed to the region to help in tracing stolen cattle.
He added that the joint security forces were also tracing for the missing animals and once they are found, the animals will be handed over to the owners.
However, some elders from Karamoja have rejected as lies, the report by the police showing that the recovery rate is high at 90%.
Jackson Angella, an elder from Moroto district disagrees with the report saying that thousands of cattle have been stolen but less than 50 heads of cattle have been recovered.
He says on several occasions the security agencies fail to recover the cattle despite the presence of choppers in Moroto.
An elder and a community leader in Kotido district John Bosco Akore, says that the joint forces have always been on the ground acting on every lead given to them about stolen cattle.
According to Akore, the recovery rate is fair because UPDF at least recovers part of the stolen cattle to the tune of up to 60- 70 percent.
Akore says whenever the theft is reported to the UPDF, they have recovered most of the raided livestock.
Last week, in the districts of Nabilatuk and Moroto where raids were reported, all 1,200 heads of cattle have not yet been recovered. In Moroto, more major raids were reported and at least 600 heads of cattle were raided with less than 50 reportedly recovered by the joint forces according to the district chairperson David Koriang.
The UPDF 3rd Division Spokesperson Edrin Mawanda and Mt. Moroto Police Acting Spokesperson, Michael Longoli say the joint forces are tracking the stolen animals.
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