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Security hands over livestock as Turkana surrender guns
The Army and Turkana leaders after the meeting in Moroto District on October 11, 2023. Photo/Courtesy
What you need to know:
- The September encounter with UPDF and the Turkana made the Kenyan community to leave behind the 91 heads of cattle and 12 Donkeys. The Turkana were given a condition by security commanders to hand over guns used before getting back the cows.
A joint security team on October 11 handed over livestock to Turkana pastoralists after they surrendered two guns to the Uganda Peoples' Defense Forces (UPDF) in Moroto District.
The livestock included 91 cows and 12 Donkeys. This follows a recent encounter between the 403 Infantry Brigade with armed Turkana herdsmen in the areas of Naput along the Uganda-Kenya borderline in late September 2023.
Another incident was registered in March 2023 where three Ugandan geologists who were on a routine mapping in Moroto District were violently killed alongside two UPDF soldiers in an ambush.
The September encounter with UPDF and the Turkana made the Kenyan community to leave behind the 91 heads of cattle and 12 Donkeys. The Turkana were given a condition by security commanders to hand over guns used before getting back the cows.
On 4 October 23, the Turkana led by the community elder Mr Nyilimo Nakuon a resident of Lokiriama, brought 02 guns which were received yesterday by the senior security leaders in Moroto district.
“We are enforcing the executive orders and directives of President Museveni on operations against the armed nomadism,” Col Kidega said.
Col Obura Richard Kidega, the 403 Infantry Brigade Commander who represented the 3 Division Commander Maj General Don Nabasa said that following the killing of the geologists, the Turkana authorities are required to present the killers to their Ugandan counterparts for prosecution and justice.
Mr David Koryang, the Chairperson of Moroto District Local Government expressed gratitude to UPDF for handing over the cattle to the Turkana and the Turkana for responding to the set conditions to surrender the guns. He urged the Turkana to respect the laws of Uganda and challenged them to team up and trace for killers of geologists who are believed to be at large.
The Kenya Liaison Officer to Uganda, Maj Abdullah Kalicha noted that the Kenyan authorities continue to tracing the killers of the geologists. He emphasized that the Turkana County authorities will continue to sensitize the pastoralists on the risks of gun trafficking.
The operation which UPDF named Usalama Kwa Wote had last month recovered five guns from warriors, 39 ammunitions from, 39 suspects arrested and 42 cattle recovered from the warriors
Museveni on July 24 2021, directed UPDF and police to deploy the necessary armed personnel with aerial support to disarm all warriors.
