Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s special operations advisor, has provided 274 animals to Agago livestock farmers as recompense for the animals they allegedly lost to Karamojong raiders.
Written by Chris Muhizi Minembwe Capital News 12:00pm Kampala Uganda Time.
Muhooozi made the commitment in March when visiting Coodong Village in Omiya Pachwa Sub-County and speaking with residents from eight different sub-counties about the subject of the Karamojong’s ongoing assaults.
The livestock owners in Adilang Town Council, Laimuto Town Council, Adilang, Laperebong, Paimol, Lira Kato, Lapono, Omiya Pachwa, Ajali, Kuywee, and Parabongo sub-counties received the animals that were transported on Friday.
According to Leonard Ojok, the chairman of the Agago district, the recipients who lost their animals between October 2022 and February 2023 would receive the animals.
Adilang Town Council’s LC 3 chairperson Santo San Ongom saluted Muhoozi for quickly keeping his word. Ongom, however, urged the government to compensate everyone who lost their animals, claiming that many people lost their only means of support because they relied on the animals for extensive farming.
While praising Muhoozi for keeping his promise, Joseph Menya, a resident of Kulir Village in Abala parish in the Parabongo Sub-County, urged the government to compensate farmers who lost animals provided under programmes like NUSAF in order to support their commercial farming.
However, Jiponi Oyoo, an Adilang Sub-county claimant who went to pick up his animals today, Saturday, is dissatisfied with the quantity of animals delivered by Muhoozi.
Oyoo claimed that in 2019, a member of his family was slain, and the minister for Karamoja Affairs pledged to make up for it by providing 60 animals. However, he is shocked to learn that they are receiving only three animals.
The animals’ beneficiaries, according to James Nabinson Kidega, the RDC for the Agago district, are individuals who were named by the UPDF when more than 2000 animals were found and sent to Dam Lungor for identification.
In February, the UPDF turned back at least 2,700 livestock that had been taken during raids in the Acholi sub-region’s Kitgum, Pader, Lamwo, and Agago districts as well as the Lango sub-region’s Alebtong and Otuke districts between October 2022 and February 2023.
However, several livestock owners in Agago rejected the animals when they were distributed, claiming that there weren’t enough of them.