By No. 1 Citizen and Guardian
Eastern Equatoria State governor, Louise Lobong urged the Ateker communities living within the tri-point to desist from border-related dispute and embrace peaceful co-existence among themselves.
This call came following a High-Level Meeting of Ateker Leaders convened in Moroto, Uganda for Border Communities Sensitization that led to the signing of a joint report resolving to foster peaceful co-existence, deepen cultural linkages and amicably address communities-based issues.
Addressing the conference on behalf of the Minister of East African Community Affairs, Lobong called upon the Tri-Point East African Communities [EAC] living along the border to focus on their livelihoods and leave the boundaries matter to their respective country’s governments.
“Communities should leave border matters to their respective governments while focusing on their livelihoods. The Ateker should allow livestock to move freely and graze without conflict,” said Lobong.
He expressed South Sudan’s “full support” to EAC, urging for continued steering of such initiatives to resolve border-related disputes.
The Ateker leaders who convened in Moroto, Uganda, for the High-Level Meeting of Ateker Leaders and Border Communities Sensitisation on peaceful co-existence, agreed to support governments’ efforts to mobilize the community to participate in the concurrent disarmament process.
This is because the leaders noted that the illegal firearms within their community contribute greatly to the insecurity in the border areas.
They further resolved to use traditional and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to manage and resolve conflicts at the community level and agreed to establish joint resource management committees to address resource scarcity and prevent resource-based conflicts between communities.
The leaders further urged the Governments of Kenya and Uganda to prioritize the signing of a resource-sharing agreement to ensure equitable access and usage of shared resources, benefiting border communities.
In addition, they urged their governments to prioritize the construction of roads, markets, abattoirs and other essential infrastructure.
Dr. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, Uganda’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, reaffirmed the Government of Uganda’s commitment to implementing the resolutions from the East African Community’s first peace caravan.
The Minister emphasized that the government is dedicated to improving infrastructure, noting that the Suam One-Stop Border Post is nearing completion on the Ugandan side, while the 73km tarmac road from Kapchorwa to Suam has been completed.
Kadaga further outlined various security measures that the Ugandan Government has put in place including; inspections of police armouries to ensure safe weapon storage, training law enforcement officers in physical security and stockpile management and marking firearms for easier tracing.
“The government has implemented a fingerprinting system for both police and civilian-owned firearms, creating a forensic database for crime investigations,” she said, adding that the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) has been deployed to combat livestock theft, while the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) is conducting ongoing security operations to ensure public safety.
The Minister informed attendees about the recent negotiations between the Republics of Kenya and Uganda, resulting in a Memorandum of Understanding on the cross-border Transformation Agenda for Uganda (Karamoja and Sebei) and Kenya (Turkana and West Pokot), along with a resource-sharing agreement for the communities involved.
“These documents will be signed during the upcoming Summit of the Two Heads of State in Moroto, underscoring both countries’ commitment to achieving lasting peace and development for these communities,” she added.
This gathering follows the First EAC Peace Caravan for border communities of the Atekar community, held in June-July 2023.
The initiative aims to promote peaceful coexistence, good neighbourliness, and peaceful dispute resolution among border communities through experiential learning from successful practices in the region.
Following the high-level meeting with Ateker community leaders, a series of sensitization sessions will be conducted to promote the peace caravan’s resolutions, peaceful coexistence, and regional integration in Moroto (Uganda), Lokichogio (Kenya), and Narus (South Sudan).
On her part, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for East African Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Areas (ASALs) and Regional Development, Hon. Beatrice Moe Askul, recapped several projects implemented by the Government of Kenya among the border communities of Turkana and West Pokot.
“We have constructed three peace dams namely; Naku’etum in Turkana County, Kases in West Pokot County and Forore- Aldere in Marsabit County. We also installed the Nasal solarized borehole in West Pokot and constructed Urum water distribution systems in Turkana County,” she added.
The Minister also highlighted ongoing research into conflict dynamics and adaptation mechanisms among the Turkana, West Pokot, and Karamoja communities.
The Minister further urged leaders to ensure that these resolutions are communicated within their communities for support and implementation.
Ateker, or ŋaTekerin, is a common name for the closely related Jie, Karamojong, Turkana, Toposa, Nyangatom and Teso peoples and their languages. These ethnic groups inhabit an area across Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan.