By Adia Jildo
At least 43 cattle have been raided from Lawiye-Oduny village in Lamwo District in Uganda by raiders on Tuesday. It was reported that the raiders are suspected to be from South Sudan as they seem to have crossed to South Sudan through the areas of Tseretenya and Lofus.
Gabriel Akom Arok Akom, the warrant officer at Ikwoto County said 36 cattle were recovered by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and 7 were still missing and are believed to have been taken by the raiders.
“Some members of Monyomiji and police have gone in the bush to search for the raiders,” he said.
He said cattle raiding is a common activity among the cattle keeping communities.
“This will not spoil our bilateral relationship because it is not the whole of South Sudan or Uganda that raided the cattle. It’s a group of raiders that might be from one of the communities from any of the two countries,” he said.
Akom said it’s too early to declare the suspects but promised to clear the air when culprits are caught with evidence.
“If we arrest the raiders then we shall take them to court. We cannot say its raiders from South Sudan or Uganda since we don’t have evidence. Back in 1999 and in 2001, there was a raiding that happened in the Uganda side that the cattle were brought into South Sudan by the Ugandan raiders and it was caught in South Sudan. That is why we need to first find the raiders and we will conclude,” he said.
He called for calm as they are still in search of the raiders and evidence on the raiding that happened.
Attempts to reach the Uganda authorities concerning the matter were futile by Press time.
However no suspect has been arrested following the raid.