A truck of crude alcohol netted in Karamoja

Police in Moroto on Saturday detained seven businessmen including a driver of a Fuso truck registration number UAN 524L loaded with about 200 Jeri cans of crude alcohol being illegally transported from Jinja to Moroto town.

According to ASP Richard Anyama of Moroto Central police station, the dealers were netted at Iriir sub-county in Moroto district.

Mr. Anyama identified the suspected traders as Bakaliz Nsamba, Munyobi Lokiru, John Buesi, Paul Logit, Maruka Achum, Amanya Lorika, and Muru Locham all residents of Kangole parish Bokora County.

“Police learnt that the suspects were selling the enguli during night hours to retailers at different trading centers as they headed towards the Municipality” said Mr. Anyama.

Mr. Anyama said the suspects will be produced in court on Monday and could face up to one year imprisonment if found guilty according to the 1964 Enguli act which prohibits dealing in unlicensed alcoholic drinks in Uganda.

Karamoja regional police spokesperson Mr. George Obia said a by-law prohibiting the sale of enguli in Karamoja was set last year apart from the national law against the practice of transporting or dealing in crude and unlicensed alcoholic drinks.

“A law in the region was passed last year to ban the sale of crude alcohol. Already six people have been convicted and are serving the sentence at Kotido prisons” he said.
Mr. Obia however noted that the one year sentence and cash fine is a lighter punishment that most dealers don’t take as serious.

“The problem is that the punishment is quite light. The culprits are in most cases either cautioned or fined - this penalty is not punitive enough” Mr. Obia said on Saturday.

This is not the first case of illegal transportation of crude alcohol into Karamoja. Early last month, Mr. Sam Adam Okello an LC3 chairperson of Morulem Sub County in Abim district was detained over shooting Mr. Zackary Muya a police officer who was guarding a truck loaded with several containers of crude enguli being imported from Lira district for sale in Karamoja. The vehicle belonged to Mr. Okello

According to police, heavy consumption of crude waraji especially in the districts of Abim and Kotido has led to high crime rates inform of domestic violence and child negligence.

30 Karimojongs trained as animal health workers

A total of 30 Karimojong men and women who completed a two weeks training as community animal health workers were on Friday passed out in Moroto district.

The training was conducted by the US veterinary soldiers in conjunction with the Makerere University Faculty of Veterinary medicine and the UPDF under the Ministry of defence.

Moroto district veterinary officer Dr. Walter Orongo said the trainees were randomly picked from Matheniko and Bokora counties in Moroto district by a team of district health officials, the UPDF and the US army.

Mr. Orongo said the training which will spread to all districts of Karamoja is aimed at equipping the pastoralists with basic knowledge on animal health so as to increase production and value.

“This training involves teaching the team how to inject animals, how to measure animal weight, hoof cutting and how to identify disease infections” he said.

The pastoralist were also given veterinary kits like syringes, gumboots, hoof cutters, weight measuring devices and animal drugs for various infections.

Mr. Orongo identified common animal diseases among Karimojong pastoralists as tick-bone diseases, warm infections, and animal pneumonia among others.

“Foot rot in goats and sheep is also common in the region especially during rainy season. Anthrax which spreads to humans is also experienced during raids among the Karimojong communities” Mr. Orongo explained.

UPDF Civil military coordinator for Karamoja Maj. Twerikeire Kamulali said the training is also meant to strengthen the relationship between the civilian population in the region and the army under the joint civil military cooperation. Mr. Kamulali also said the training will commit the pastoralists to cattle keeping and discourage cattle rustling.

“The purpose of this training is cooperation and development. It is a paradigm shift from cattle rustling to cattle keeping” he said.
He added that the life of a Karimojong is incomplete without a cow, saying the pastoralists can only develop with the presence of a healthy cow, and that a healthy cow needs to stay in a peaceful environment.

“You are not only heath workers, but peace builders. The Americans are here because Africa’s problem is an American problem, the UPDF is here because the problem of Karamoja is a Ugandan problem and the problem of the Matheniko also remains that of the Bokora” he told graduates.

The US army team leader in Karamoja Capt. Nathan Heller who presided over the function said “Our mission is to assess the UPDF and other civil organizations in this region, and to assist them with various projects relevant to this community in form of joint civil military training to enable peace and stability in Karamoja.”

Mr. Heller said the US veterinary team had treated up to 5000 herds of cattle in the region and accomplished security fencing at Kotido SS.

Sh120 billion for Karamoja schools

The Irish government has pledged up to shs.120 billion to rehabilitate schools in the Karamoja sub-region.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Irish funded classroom block in Moroto High school in Moroto district on Tuesday, Irish foreign affairs Michael Martin said the fund which will be released in a period of five years is part of the continuous support of the government of Ireland to Karamoja, a region with the highest rate of illiteracy in Uganda.

“The government of Ireland is committed to supporting education in Karamoja so that children can attain better knowledge necessary for development” he said.
Martin added that the only way to improve conditions of lives of people in a region like Karamoja was by strengthening learning institutions.

He said the fund will be used to renovate and create new structures in Karamoja schools. He also disclosed that more grants would be availed to Karimojong children who excel in education for scholarships so that they can catch up with other regions.

Irish ambassador to Uganda Kevin Kelly said the partnership between Uganda and Ireland in the areas of education was a great privilege. He said parents should help partners in the struggle by sending their children to school.

“I advise the parents in Karamoja to support our government by sending their children to school. It will be a waste of time and resources for a structure to be built without students” he said.

Education Minister Geraldine Bitamazire who accompanied the duo expressed gratitude towards their continued support.

“A lot has come from Ireland to support education in this country. We are even grateful that they are continuing with the generous support” she said.
Bitamazire urged students and teachers in the region to take education as priority number one, cautioning them against unnecessary strikes saying it is a ‘poison’ to education.

“The structures constructed should be guarded carefully. Burning school buildings through strikes retards development” Bitamazire said.

She revealed that a total of 13 selected schools and institutions in Karamoja have already benefited from the support through rehabilitation and expansion programmes.

Moroto High school head teacher Mr. Peter Luzige thanked government for linking the donors to Karamoja schools.

Kamya lectures Karimojongs on Federalism

Karamoja does not need programmes like NAADS for its development but a network of industries since the region is Uganda’s mineral basket said Rubaga North Constituency Member of Parliament and president of the Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA) Hon. Betty Kamya.

Kamya who was addressing UFA party leaders at Regina Mundi parish hall in Moroto district on Friday told communities that Karamoja has remained poor because the NRM government and other governments before deliberately chose to ignore the people there.

“I don’t want you to be looked at as backward; you should not allow to be belittled by the people in power because if you look for a rich region in this country, Karamoja is the richest with plenty of minerals like copper, gold, iron ore, limestone etc” she told the Karimojong.

“God made Karamoja the richest region but the leaders have made it the poorest” she added.
Kamya likened Karamoja to a son of a rich man who stays with a step mother and is suffering because the step mom does not give him enough food, clothing, health and education. She said the presence of Karimojong beggars along the streets of Kampala symbolizes the suffering son of a rich man in the hands of the step mother who left home looking for better life elsewhere.

“The step mother should go! The son of this rich man should enjoy the wealth of his father” she said sending the excited crowd to laughter.

Kamya said that the unitary system of government which Uganda is stuck on is a depleted structure that was imposed by the Queen of England 50 years ago mainly to enable easy exploitation of ordinary Ugandans. She said after 48 years of independence, Ugandans should go for a federal system of government since it allows equal enjoyments of the available natural resources.

At a rally in Moroto boma ground, Kamya told the crowd that Uganda is a sick country but Karamoja remains the most affected region with people left to die of various controllable diseases like cholera and that Karimojong children are left to be exploited openly in the streets.

“We have brought you the medicine; it’s up to you to take it. You can choose to have Karamoja as a country with very many poor people or a Karamoja as a region with many prosperous people”. She said.

The outspoken MP received a warm welcome especially from the women who encouraged her to stand for president saying they are ready to vote for her. Women groups of the Matheniko tribe in Moroto told Kamya that the Giraffe which is the party sign of UFA is also the cultural sign of the Matheniko.

She was accompanied by UFA Party coordinator for eastern Uganda Mr. Peter Mayega and Karamoja regional party representative Mr. Charles Adiaka. She promised to support Mr. Adiaka to stand as Member of Parliament for Moroto Municipality.

Police intercept 18 Karimojong kids heading to Kampala on African Child Day

As the country celebrated the international Day of the African Child yesterday, police in Karamoja intercepted 18 unaccompanied children aboard a gateway bus travelling to Kampala.

Karamoja Regional Police Spokesperson, Mr.George Obia told this site that the kids aged between 4 and 15years were nabbed at a trading centre in Iriir Sub County, Napak district.

“The 18 children were intercepted at about 4:00am in the morning by police at Iriir trading centre after a tip off from concerned local residents” Obia said.

He added that police is investigating on whether there are some people behind the movement of these children to the city.

“Though the kids were unaccompanied, we suspect that there could be some people trying to use them like in earlier incidences” Obia added.

He explained that the Gateway bus in which the children were in had travelled from Moroto Municipality very early at around 3:30am and was heading to Mbale and Kampala.

Mr. Obia said the vice of child trafficking in Moroto had stopped for a while following the occasional Police road checks along the Moroto – Soroti high way.

Recently over 300 Karimojong families who were begging in the streets of Kampala were repatriated back to Karamoja when government offered them start up capital and household property.

Most of the Karimojong beggars are found in Kampala suburbs like Kisenyi near St. Balikudembe market and blue room area in Kampala district.

At the main celebration ground to mark the day of the African child and the belated International day against Child Labour in Moroto district, the Assistant Resident District Commissioner, Mr. Bob Opio observed that Karimojong children have been victims of different kinds of abuses for long and that government and development partners are now ready to support the children so that they can be reasonable and respectable future citizens.

“It is time for Karimojong children to enjoy equal rights with other children the world over. Every thing is possible because government and other partners are ready” Mr. Opio said.

In honour of the children, the guest of honour for the day was 12 year old Brenda Akodo a primary three pupil of Child Jesus nursery and primary school in Moroto district.

In a move aimed at fighting different forms of child abuse in the region, government in partnership with development partners like Save the children in Uganda has constructed 10 centres spread in two Karamoja districts of Kotido and Moroto to keep children faced by conflict before they are handled by the probation office.

LC3 Chairperson implicated over sale of dangerous drug

Police in Abim district on Saturday arrested an L.C3 chairperson following the shooting of a police officer who was guarding a vehicle impounded with several containers of dangerous potent gin –a local alcoholic drink transported from Lira district to Karamoja.

Sam Adam Okello the LC3 chairperson for Morulem sub-county in Abim district was arrested shortly after Zackary Muya 35, a police man was shot in the night hours.

Regional police spokesperson George Obia told this site that a Fuso truck registration number UAL 567D belonging to Mr. Okello the LC3 chairperson was impounded with a total of 75 Jeri cans of alcohol over the weekend.

“The vehicle was confiscated at around 9.00pm on Friday night with 19 Jeri cans of very dangerous crude alcohol locally made in Lira district specifically for sale in Karamoja” Obia explained.

Mr. Obia said the same vehicle was earlier on sighted with 56 containers of the drug but the driver kept on dodging the police.

However according to Mr. Obia, unidentified gunmen suspected to have been sent by Mr. Okello attacked the police station in the middle of the night of the same day and shot Mr. Muya in the hands.

“Mr. Muya sustained serious injuries and is admitted to hospital. We already have a list of suspects though only one arrest has so far been made” Obia said.

According to police, heavy consumption of crude waraji in Abim district has led to high crime rates inform of domestic violence and child negligence. The drink is also said to have led to increased epileptic cases in the district with fresh cases in Morulem health center and Abim hospital being attributed to excessive alcoholic content in the blood of most adults.

Abim District Police Commander, Erineo Wabwire said a by-law banning the transportation and sale of alcohol in the district was passed last year but the business community are still importing and selling the drug illegally.

“Alcohol has become the most profitable business in the district that no business man almost wants to do without it. Even with a strict law in place they still operate at night hours.” Mr. Wabwire explained.

2000 LDUs to be recruited from Karamoja

President Yoweri Museveni has directed the defense Ministry to recruite a total of 2000 LDUs from Karamoja sub region to tackle security issues in the region, Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Aronda Nyakairima has revealed.

Addressing leaders from Karamoja region at Moroto district headquarters during a function to mark the National hero’s day yesterday, Nyakairima said the UPDF has been busy battling with wars like the LRA conflict in northern Uganda and the ADF in the west, making intervention into the Karamoja question difficult. He said other external conflicts like fighting Congo from 1998 to 2003 and the war in Somalia were also responsible for the peace delay in Karamoja.

The 2,000 LDUs to be recruited will be distributed across Karamoja districts excluding Abim. Amudat will have 250 recruits, while Nakapiripirit, Napak and Moroto districts will recruite 300 per district. Other 400 recruits will be got from Kotido and another 450 from Kaabong. The recruitment will take effect immediately after the reading of the budget.

“The LDUs will basically play the role of zonal protection while the UPDF will concentrate on the disarmament and deployments along the international borders” Nyakairima said.

Mr. Nyakairima who was accompanied by other top army officials said Karamoja has lagged behind in terms of social and economic development because of the difficult security issues in the region. He told leaders that Government is now committed to tackle the problems in the region by recruiting Special Forces from the region to finish up the disarmament exercise.

“Peace is irresistible; we must fight for it because it will give way to overwhelming development in this region”. He said