WEEKLY ROUND UP NEWS FROM THE ATEKER CLUSTER

ARTICLE BY KARAMOJA TRACKER PEACE INIATIVE

A NON-PARTISAN INITATIVE AIMED AT MONITORING ACTIVITIES OF STATE AND NO-STATE ACTORS IN THE ATEKER CLUSTER OF IGAD ZONE 3

Kenya (North Rift)

Week 3 of Kenyan Special Operation in North Rift has seen Multiple guns being recovered alongside thousands of (goats, sheep and camels) as security forces step up their operations. Most notably the 2,600 goats recovered in Turkana.

Some of the recovered Livestock CREDITS: NPS_KE Twitter

That being said members of the Samburu and Marakwet Communities are decrying the fact that some raids seem to be slipping through the cracks and this has cost human lives in the process. Samburu County and community members were attending was attacked however this was quickly repulsed by the KDF.

Samburu County leaders, led by Governor Jonathan Lelelit (green jacket) and residents leave a security meeting in Nolkera, Samburu West on April 1, 2023, after security agents repulsed armed bandits who attacked them. CREDITS: Nation Media Group By Geoffrey Ondieki

At least 10 people died this week with others injured despite security operations and lockdown protocols in trouble spots. A section of Leaders from Pokot and Turkana are also requesting the Government to follow disarmament with development as part of sustainable solutions to end banditry for.

Wakili Daniel Murkomen a youth, lawyer and peace promoter in the Ateker cluster stated that “Despite the security Operation ongoing, measures taken are ineffective. Bandits are still roaming freely while civilians continue losing lives and property.” He further added that “there needs to be an overhaul of the security operation and utilization of criminal justice system to stop perpetrators, aiders and abettors of Banditry.

When asked whether Kenya needs a law specifically targeting banditry he said “we already have enough laws regulating banditry such as the Penal Code which proscribes theft of property and murder which are elements of Banditry.”

Uganda (Karamoja)

This week saw a section of 244 youth (mostly teenagers) that were arrested last year in a series of coordinated mass arrests across Karamoja sub-region being released from Gulu Remand home bearing signs of malnourishment and starvation.

In what the UPDF called ‘intelligence led disarmament’. The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) 3rd Division, launched a series of raids, mainly on market days, cordoning the area, detaining and processing all ngikarachuna (warrior age males). The UPDF claims it was targeting an intelligence generated list of suspects and that it released all those that were innocent.

While these operations did lead to the recovery of some guns and ammunition as well as the detention of some hardcore criminal elements there are widespread claims of beatings, torture, forced confessions and summary executions which contravene not only Ugandan law but the Geneva Convention, Rome statute and other internationally recognised protocols that govern the treatment of suspects in a conflict zone.

hon. Nakut Faith (Woman MP Napak) lamented their plight stating “who will account for this unfair treatment of humans?” She stated that she expects three things: 1) Restoration of health of the boys, 2) Care for those still in detention and 3) Compensation for the one who died while in custody.”

Karamoja Youth Agenda: Vision 2040 also released a statement on the detainees in which they asked “what shall be the human cost of this disarmament?”. They urged the UPDF to treat suspects more humanely as the now infamous Achuchu, who some claim was a major catalyst for the resurgence of conflict, was also once a detainee that upon release found his wives had left him and property distributed. Given the lack of support from government to Karachunas he resorted to criminality.

This week also saw the Honorable Minister of Karamoja Affairs who is accused of allegedly diverting Iron Sheets and money for goats under a Presidential initiative meant for Reformed Karachunas (Warriors) who surrendered their firearms to the government willingly, being remanded to Luzira prison awaiting trial.

South Sudan (Kapoeta State and Eastern Equatorial State)

As the tension in the Elemi Triangle heats up Hon. Deng Dau Deng the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of South Sudan claimed that there are “42 areas…encroached by its neighbors. We have written a letter to the African Union to support bilateral discussions with Kenya and Uganda on the boundaries issues.”

This is in light of the current border tensions that have embroiled Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia over the Ilemi triangle, a once ignored frontier territory that no country cared to govern seriously that is being cast with new light as the rumors of the discovery of vast mineral deposits within it.

This also comes after legislators in South Sudan accused Kenya of attempting to expand its frontiers until Nakodok an area deep within Kapoeta East. This is beyond what was agreed in the 2009 Agreement where GoSS and GoK agreed to have a border post in Nadapal. There was brief fighting and a lot of tension in early February between Turkana and Toposa communities with South Sudan accusing Kenya of using the paramilitary Kenya Police Reservists to annex parts of South Sudan.

We at Karamoja Trumpet believe there is need for a joint delegation to travel to London and review the Colonial maps as well investigate previous agreed lines such as the 1902 Maud Line, 1938 Red Line, 1947 Blue Line and 1950 Sudan Patrol Line.

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