P’Odong Nyingalango
By P’Odong Nyingalango
A village in Nwoya district has passed a bylaw against goat theft.
From now on visitors and new members in Paromo village, Ceke Ward in Anaka Town Council will be required to come with letters from LC1’s of where they are from to prove that they are the genuine owners of the goats in their possession.
The bylaw, the residents say, is meant to combat rampant goat thefts.
The residents passed the bylaw on Sunday during a community meeting to address the alarming theft of the animals.
In addition, the meeting was also meant to inform residents Paromo to tether their goats now that the rains have returned in order to stop them from destroying crops.
During the dry season, goats in Acholi are left to roam about but are tethered when rain returns and crops begin to sprout in the gardens.
Paromo youth leader, Ronald Ojok, who spoke on behalf of LC1 during the meeting said ten goats had been stolen from the village within a space of only a week.
Ojok told the meeting that the thieves steal the goats during the night from the verandahs of huts where the animals are tethered or gather during the night.
The chief of Paromo, Ceaser Ochola, advised the local community to come up with a bylaw that will require whoever comes in the village to identify themselves and to prove that the animals they are moving with—if any—is there’s.
A bylaw was subsequently passed stating that anyone caught in the act of stealing goats will be fined two goats in addition to 20,000 shillings.
