South Sudanese authorities have returned 20 herds of cattle its nationals stole from Lamwo district in northern Uganda early this year.
A five-member team of South Sudanese officials headed by Cpl. Alindo Henry Odongi handed over the livestock to Lamwo district officials led by the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Jonathan Rutabingwa.
The handover of the animals took place on Wednesday this week at Agoro sub-county headquarters in Lamwo district.
The 20 herds were part of the 36 cattle raided by Langi warriors from Imatong State on March 18th, from various residents in Agoro. Fifteen of the animals were rescued by Ugandan security personnel in a shootout shortly after the raid.
Of the cattle returned, only six were part of the original looted from Lamwo. The rest were replacements. The South Sudanese should have returned 21 cows to Uganda but they said they had eaten one of the animals on their way to Uganda.
The return of the cattle followed a series of correspondences between RDC Rutabingwa and Imatong State Governor, Capt. Salvatore Abdallah Larossimoi.
David Obwaha Kamilo, a police officer who spoke on behalf of the South Sudanese delegation, urged the Ugandan army to deploy near the common border to block Loguru Road, a secret footpath used by the raiders to sneak through the border into Uganda.
“We want the UPDF to close for us this place (road) so that these thieves should not disturb us. Now we are suffering here because of them,” Kamilo said.
Kamilo said cattle raiders from South Sudan are undermining the good relations between his country and Uganda.
“We have a problem of food, now if we are thieves where are we going to get food (from)?” Kamilo wondered. South Sudan imports most of its fresh food stuff from Uganda through the Gulu- Nimule road.
Lamwo LC5 chairman, Ocen Mathew Akiya said it was the third time South Sudanese authorities were returning livestock from Lamwo.
Akiya, however, told the visitors that over 400 cattle were at various points stolen from Lamwo and are still in South Sudan. He said the South Sudanese should also return the animals.
Akiya also cautioned residents of Lamwo against leaving their livestock to loiter about, making it easier for raiders to steal them. The district Chairman said while some cattle are raided from kraals, others are just picked by thugs from South Sudan because they are unattended to.
“The people should realize that it is very strenuous to go through these processes of recovering stolen livestock [from South Sudan]. A lot of time and resources is wasted which could have been better channeled for productive work if people cared enough for their animals,” Akiya observed.
On his part Lamwo RDC Rutabingwa commended South Sudan for the gesture which he said would improve relations between residents in Lamwo and communities that neighbour them in South Sudan.
“This is the way to go,’’ said Rutabingwa adding that ‘‘ criminally minded people from Uganda or South Sudan will find no heaven in either country when we all work together like this.”
Lamwo district veterinary officer, Dr Agena Bosco inspected the returned cattle and found one was sick with bovine fever. The Vet directed that the animals be quarantined for two weeks for their health to be examined before being handed to owners. He said this will prevent the animals from spreading diseases.
During the handover, Lamwo residents appealed to government to deploy more UPDF in the border area to stop the rampant raids by cattle raiders from South Sudan.
