Suspected South Sudanese raid 70 cattle in Lamwo

Lamwo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Seventy head of cattle were on Friday stolen from Abukutu Village, Kadomera Parish, Nyimur Sub-County by suspected cattle thieves from South Sudan.

It is reported that the three robbers stormed the village at 3 am and raided the animals belonging to Anthony Antanacio Ayella.

James Ochola, the LCV Councilor of Nyimur Sub-County, said the raiders took advantage of the lack of security in the area.

According to Ochola, the locals suspect that the rustlers are being informed about the location of animals by the refugees in Palabek Settlement.

Ochola revealed that in 2018, a brother of Ayella also lost 68 heads of cattle to the raiders from South Sudan. He appealed to the district security committee to restore hope in the livestock farmers by recovering animals that have been lost.

Ochola said since 2018, at least 600 cattle have been raided by the thieves from South Sudan, and none has been recovered.

Oswin Sebastian Oguti, the Deputy RDC of Lamwo, confirmed the raid and said they are in coordination with leaders of Owiny Kibul to have the animals recovered.

Oguti said the raiders took advantage of a spot without security deployment and appealed to the locals to always report any suspicious persons to the security personnel so that the raiders are stopped before.

On why the animals stolen in the past have not been recovered, Oguti said there was poor coordination by leaders in Lamwo and Eastern Equatorial, a situation he said has improved with dialogue in the recent past.

Oguti said the deployment of security on Thursday will also help secure the area more than before.

The Friday raid happened only a day after a group of seven armed men from South Sudan invaded Lagaya Zone on Thursday night, and killed one farmer, leaving three with injuries.

The attackers also went with six cattle and burned down seven huts.

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