Prime
Gold miners flee mining site after armed Turkana pastoralists kill LDU personnel
Miners inside a gold mine in Nakabat, Rupa sub-county, Moroto district. PHOTO/STEVEN ARIONG
What you need to know:
- The murder of the security operative in the latest Turkana pastoralists’ attack has since forced some deployed Police Mineral Protection Unit officers to flee for their lives, Daily Monitor has learnt.
Scores of Karimojong gold miners in Nakabat village in Rupa Sub County, Moroto district- are on the move after a series of attacks by armed Turkana pastoralists.
Armed Turkana pastoralists gunned down a Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel through an April 18 night attack at one of the mining sites in Nakabat village.
The murder of the security operative in the latest Turkana pastoralists’ attack has since forced some deployed Police Mineral Protection Unit officers to flee for their lives, Daily Monitor has learnt.
Armed Turkana warriors also looted gold and other items from the miners estimated at over Shs50million before they took off, headed towards Kenya.
Nakabat is located about 19 kilometers Northern from the heart of Moroto but approximately part 6 kilometers away from the Kenyan border.
Betty Angolere who is one of the gold miners called for immediate security force intervention.
“We don’t know why government removed guns from us the Karimojong and instead left us to be mistreated by Turkana pastoralists,” she remarked.
In 2001 government launched a disarmament exercise in Karamoja and collected over 50,000 guns.
Marry Naput, another gold miner said all the tools they were using for extracting gold have been taken by the armed Turkanas.
“Even the police who are deployed here are like us women. We run (away) together when the Turkana come to attack the sites,” she said.
John Ngorok the chairman of mining group in the village- said the attack by armed Turkana pastoralists on the miners has worsened house hold income levels for many families.
“This has been our main source of earning but now the Turkana who are patrolling the area with guns have blocked us from doing mining,’’ he said.
UPDF 3rd division spokesperson Major Peter Mugisa confirmed the wave of attacks but said the army was considering enforcing a redeployment at the mining site.
“We had our soldiers deployed at that site but they were withdrawn because some locals alleged that our soldiers were raping them. Investigations established that the allegations were false,’’ he said.
