The Karamonjong tribe and proliferation of guns

Wadri Worogga Peter
Uganda - 05/01/2005
  The Karamojong tribe, one of few African tribes that have continued to live in an 18th century lifestyle have continued with barbaric acts of raiding their neighbors (tribes) and gone on practicing this at the expense of their own clan members.

Karamojong from Karamoja located in the North Eastern part of Uganda (small East African country) are a nomadic tribe whose livelihood depends on keeping cattle. Located in a 27,200 square kilometer area of semi-arid savannah, bush and mountains, the region has dominant groups including the Dodoth in the north, the Jie in the central region, and in the south a cluster of closely related ethnic groups known as Bokora, Matheniko, and Pian all of whom are referred to generally as the Karimojong in the Karamoja Region

As described, the area is semi-arid with a varying rain pattern where most rains fall between June and September. This leaves the area greatly exposed to drought and therefore to failing crop production, making it hard to keep livestock.

Because of the unpredictable rains and persistent drought, the Karamojong often abandon their homes to move to temporary encampments in search of pasture and water for their animals, and in doing so they occasionally cross to neighboring tribes’ territory.

This search for water and pasture has always resulted in tribal fights and a culture of raiding livestock. The Karamojong have a traditional belief that all livestock around them belongs to them. This is enforced by the fact that cattle are used for bride price and participation in the raids is a symbol of strength and manhood in the tradition of the community.

From the year 1970 –1980 during a civil war in the country, the Karamojong acquired guns from disgruntled soldiers, which helped increase their strength and gain the upper hand over their neighbors, whom they ruthlessly attacked; killing, raiding, rustling cattle and destroying crops and property.

Several unsuccessful efforts were made by different government regimes during colonial and postcolonial times to persuade the Karamojong that attacking their neighbors is not beneficial.

This practice continued until 1986 when the government of President Yoweri Museveni came to power. Museveni and Human Rights groups saw the urgent need to quell escalating problem and save the Ateso, Bagisu tribes from south of Karamoja from the pathetic life they had been subjected to by the Karamojong.
The subsequent intervention by the government saw that a disarmament program was initiated to remove all illegal guns from the hands of the Karimojong.

This is one of the several attempts by governments and the civil societies to bring the situation in the region under control. However, this took a long time to be effected. But in the run up to the 1996 presidential elections, the Karimojong caused so much havoc in the neighboring districts that cattle rustling became a major electoral issue.

The incumbent President Museveni pledged in his election manifesto to end cattle rustling. A number of interim measures were adopted. During the transitional period, immediately before and after the 1996 presidential election, the Karimojong warriors mobilized and organized massive raids against the Teso and Sebei because there was 'no government'.

Between 1997 and 2000, disarmament was high on government's priority list. In December 2000, parliament passed the Disarmament Act. The objectives of the government's policy on disarmament were:

• To stop inter-clan terrorism within Karamoja
• To prevent arms proliferation
• To deploy UPDF (Uganda army), and enforce (LDUf (Local defense Unit or force) vigilantes in strategic areas within Karamoja and along the boarders to ensure protection of life and property
• To enlist support for peaceful disarmament of people at grassroots level through rigorous sensitization programs
• To co-operate with Kenya and Sudan in concurrent disarmament of the Turkana and Didinga
• To stop illegal trafficking of guns from Sudan/Kenya into Uganda
• To resettle and rehabilitate those who surrender guns and ensure social/economic transformation of Karamoja
• To improve radio communication for effective dissemination of information and education
• To strengthen the police and the judicial system to ensure peace and administration of justice

The disarmament program was carried out in two phases.

The first phase involved voluntary disarmament and started on 2nd December 2001 and ended on 2nd January 2002. Forceful disarmament commenced on 15th February 2002.

The road to disarmament

Government offered a number of incentives for the Karimojong to voluntarily disarm, including the provision of iron sheets and ox-ploughs to whoever surrendered their weapons.

At the beginning there was optimism regarding the transformation of the livelihood of the Karimojong from dependency on the cow, to other sources of income after disarmament. Indeed, in the period between January 2002 and February 2003, it was evident that the warriors had stopped openly carrying guns along roads and in towns, a sign of the success of the disarmament exercise.

Similarly, during the same period, large-scale cattle rustling was reduced to isolated incidents of cattle theft by habitual criminals.
Voluntary disarmament nevertheless had a number of shortcomings.

Because of corruption, iron sheets distributed ended up in with people who never disarmed, for example in Panyangara and Nakapelimoru sub-counties in Kotido district. Many were relatives, friends and campaign managers of local politicians.

The distribution of ox-ploughs was impractical for some ethnic groups like the Pokot, to who likened it to punishment of their precious animals and the Tepeth, who live in the mountains, and who sold theirs because the steep terrain would not allow its use

Disarmament was handled on individual basis, which escalated inter-ethnic conflicts instead of collective incentives that would have promoted community cohesiveness and reduced paranoia over public scrutiny.

The community had to travel long distances to the arms collection centers, which were located at district headquarters. Compared to the initial costs of buying arms, the incentive for people to disarm was not worth traveling.

Enforcing the disarmament

The UPDF (Ugandan Army) launched military operations to recover illegal arms after the expiration of an extended deadline for voluntary disarmament on 15th February 2002. They recovered, by force, only 1,949 guns from Karamoja and 763 from Kapchorwa. 1,378 guns and 40 homemade guns were handed voluntarily during the second phase.

Due to lack of co-operation, trust, commitment, common cause, and sincerity among senior local leadership on Karamoja, it became extremely difficult for the UPDF to mobilize forceful disarmament. This led to violent clashes between the armed Karimojong warriors and the UPDF.
In March 2002, barely a month after forceful disarmament had been launched in Karamoja, government abruptly withdrew the UPDF to contain increased LRA rebel incursions in Northern Uganda. This caused an increase of raiding by sections of the Karimojong that had not disarmed.

The raiding started when the Upe who had fled to Kenya during the disarmament returned and raided Pian and Bokora herds. The Bokora started raiding the Matheniko and Jie herds, and the Jie retaliated on the Matheniko. The Dodoth raided the Jie and Matheniko. The Turkana also intensified their incursions into Matheniko areas as far as Lorukumo. By the end of 2002, there was total mayhem in the region. Raiding spread to parts of Teso and Acholi.

As a result of these internal and external raids, different Karimojong groups started re-arming, in order to protect themselves, an act that severely undermined the initial successes yielded by the disarmament exercise. State Minister for Defence, Ruth Nankabirwa was quoted to have said at the end of November 2003, that government had conceded failure of the disarmament program and that efforts had began to re-design the program

***(Source: Building local capacity for peace and development in Karamoja, Uganda:A report study by SNV, 2004)

Conclusion-Insecurity

In spite of government's efforts to curb insecurity in the Karamoja region, instability still persists. This has a number of causes such as an increase of unemployment among youths (Karacuna).,caused by the lack of economic opportunities that attract the strong, energetic, tough and ready young Karacuna.

Other of the strong consequences derivates for the situation was the abrupt halt on the disarmament program that sparked sporadic raids against the disarmed. The Kenyan Pokot and Turkana, who were not disarmed by their Government, intensified raiding in most parts of the district and are especially to blame.

The instability of the state security forces has affected the efforts to control the insecurity in the area, which at the same time has increased the arms proliferation and as result a continuous instable situation in the area. This instability it is not a new fact it is related with the colonial background in Uganda. The colonialists decided to relocate the Karamojong, who are of pian origin from their original land of Karita and Lokaalees, which is currently occupied by the pokot, to their present location on the dry lands of Lorengedwat Nabilatuk and Lolachat. Because of this the Karamojong pian continue to view the Pokot as their enemies who grubbed away their fertile land.

Apart from the above colonial factors, the current precarious security is attributed to the ethnic and cultural difference among the Pain and the Pokot. The common local belief is that the two are traditional enemies to the extent that a raid from either group is taken as normal and expected. Tit for tat raids are the order of the day. This feeling is transformed into struggles for water and pasture areas.

• The risky situation is generation important damages in the local community development as the presence of road bandits that are affecting the construction of local infrastructures. It exists difficulties for children to can go to the school due to the conflict situation. Also the mobile populations cannot access social services from government and national programs. The quality of life of the population is decreasing, this fact is related with two main consequences of the conflict as, and the diseases spread through cattle raids and the Inability to travel to the markets due to road ambushes.
All this facts points to a complicate resolution of the conflict related with the continues changes in the Government and a not strong and effective politic plan to normalize the conflict and to stop the corruption practices, and tribes fights that are not only damaging the life of the population but also deteriorating the relationships among the leaderships of both communities and the Government authorities.

***(Source: Nakapirirpirit District Local Government Three-Year Development Plan 2003/2004 - 2004/2005)

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