Senior army commanders and local officials have told Karamoja residents that the region’s fragile calm will only last if communities expose gun‑runners, send children to school and switch from raiding to farming.
Addressing a packed “security baraza” in Lokolia village on Friday, Deputy 3 Infantry Division commander Col. Allan Kyangungu warned that “criminal elements are still hiding among us.” He urged clan elders to persuade the Karacuna (war‑age youths) to hand in illegal rifles and to “stop chasing personal favours by spreading lies that divide the community.”
The open meeting drew Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Anti‑Stock Theft Unit police, district councillors and hundreds of villagers. To reward youth groups that have renounced cattle rustling, the soldiers delivered two bulls for ox‑plough farming—part of a wider push to shift households toward food production and legal trade.
“Keep watch, work your gardens and use this peace to trade with South Sudan and Kenya,” Kaabong Assistant RDC Ruth Lokuwam told the crowd, pledging to lobby government loans for organised cooperatives.
SSP Oese John Faustine, deputy head of the Anti‑Stock Theft Unit, said community tip‑offs this year have led to several gun recoveries and the return of stolen herds. “Timely intelligence is our strongest weapon,” he noted.
District vice‑chair Joseph Lokut Mukasa called on parents to enroll every child in school, describing education as “the only lasting insurance against poverty and conflict.”
Leaders also urged residents to register for new national ID cards before the 2026 elections, warning against politicians who exploit tribal sentiment for votes.
With election season looming and cross‑border markets reopening, the baraza ended with a joint pledge from security chiefs, local government and the Karacuna to keep the guns silent and let the hoes—and trade routes—work.
