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Cattle payment program is mockery to war debt claimants – Akena
Jimmy Akena, the UPC President (C) with the party members chanting UPC slogan at the burial in Serere on Thursday. Photo | URN
What you need to know:
- Mr Akena called for restorative justice, rather than "primitive justice", to ensure that affected communities recover their lost wealth.
Jimmy Akena, president of the Uganda People's Congress (UPC), has criticised the government's cattle compensation program for Teso, Lango, and Acholi regions, calling it a "mockery" and "laughable".
Speaking at a burial ceremony in Serere District on Thursday, Mr Akena said the program is a "cheating and deceptive approach" that fails to address the true extent of the losses suffered by the affected communities.
"The government's commitment is a joke," Akena said. "They claim to be repaying Teso, Lango, and Acholi for lost cattle, but their projections and mode of payment are unrealistic."
Akena cited the example of Teso, where the total value of lost cattle is estimated at Shs2.3 to 2.6 trillion, Lango Shs1.7 trillion, and Acholi Shs1.1 trillion, meaning the government's compensation program would take about 46 years to clear the debt.
“If I use an example of Shs230M, it means government is saying they are paying Shs 5M per year against Shs 230m. So they are paying Shs50bn to Teso against the genuine outstanding debt of Shs2.6 trillion and that will take a span of 46 years to clear a debt that happened more than 30 years ago,” he stated.
"This program does not hold water. It's orchestrated to keep the victims of war, cattle raids, and rustling in extreme poverty levels," Akena added.
He called for restorative justice, rather than "primitive justice", to ensure that affected communities recover their lost wealth.
He urged the people of Teso to support his presidential aspirations in 2026 to work towards this goal.
"The life story and experience recall that Teso had the highest number of cattle in the country in 1984. We need to revive the banking systems of Teso, Lango, and Acholi in addition to livestock farming," Akena said.
Akena's comments come as the National Livestock Census 2021 revealed that the total cattle population in Uganda increased by 26.9 per cent since 2008, with indigenous cattle constituting 77 per cent of the total population.
