The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Katakwi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Hundreds of residents from three villages in Olilim Parish, Katakwi district have staged a demonstration protesting persistent cattle raids by Karimojong rustlers.
The more than 400 residents affected by cattle raids have since pitched camp in the trading center, blocking Soroti- Moroto road via Olilim on Thursday, paralyzing traffic for close to three hours.
The protesters were drawn from Olilim, Osema and Morulinga villages in Olilim Parish, Palam sub-county, Katakwi district. The angry residents were enraged by the weekend theft of 38 heads of cattle belonging to Ibrahim Omina.
By 9:00am, over 30 vehicles destined to and from Moroto and Soroti were parked on the road. It took the intervention of security to convince the protesters to vacate the road with promises of convening a meeting on Friday to address the problem of cattle rustling.
Jorem Elakara, the LC1 chairperson of Osema village cited the poor linkage between security and residents for the cattle theft.
Julius Onyait, the vice-chairperson of Morulinga village says that he has lost 14 cows to the rustlers while his neighbors like Ibrahim Onyait have lost 14 cows, Isaiah Opunya 08, Jane Itekut 05, Frances Atekit 05, John Okiru 06.
Joseph Owokori, another resident says that they will resume the protest should government fail to stop the cattle thefts by providing them sufficient security.
John Steven Ekoom, the Katakwi Resident District Commissioner says that he has already communicated to the UPDF division commander to search for the missing cattle.
On November 8th, 2021, the State Minister for Défense and Veteran Affairs, Jacob Oboth Oboth and the UPDF 3rd Division Commander held a meeting with leaders in Ngariam Palam and Magoro, where they noted that there is a need to sentence those collaborating with the rustlers to life in prison to curb insecurity in Katakwi district.
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