The legal perspective on unlawful possession of firearms, and cattle rustling in Karamoja sub-region

Abstract

Karamoja is located in the northeastern part of Uganda. It is a 27,200 square kilometer area of semi-arid savannah. It is bordered by the Turkana (Kenya) in the east, Sudan in the north and to the west and south it is bordered by Ugandan districts occupied mostly by the Acholis, Itesots and Sabiny people. The area being semi-arid, the Karamajong focus majorly on livestock–principally cattle. This explains their persistent nomadic life in pursuit for water and pasture. Their love for cattle bred a culture of raiding and warfare which has kept them at loggerheads with their neighbours. In the past, raids were mild but the situation worsened because of the proliferation of small weapons. Following the collapse of Amin’s regime in 1979, Moroto barracks was abandoned thereby leaving weapons in the hands of the clueless civilians and violence as a result reached unprecedented levels. Having assumed power in 1986, the government of Uganda under Y K Museveni, launched disarmament campaigns in 2001 and 2006. This led to the recovery of thousands of guns and by 2010, relative peace was restored. Later people illegally acquired through black-market and the situation worsened because little had been done to rehabilitate the young men who had given up their guns. In the words of Jino Meri, the LCV chairman of Kaabong District, ‘they didn’t have post-disarmament programmes to disarm the mind.’ The government has since embarked on a more appealing disarmament programme whereby, whoever hands over his gun is appreciated with a number goats as a wealth creation mechanism. This is intended dislodging the absurd culture of cattle rustling that not only breeds insecurity but also causes under developed.