MOROTO – The UPDF have warned the Karimajongs that the owners of the forcefully recovered guns will be prosecuted in the General Court Martial and their sentences pronounced.
“After serving their sentences, the reformed former warriors will be re-integrated into the community through other sister ministries, departments of Uganda and development partners,” said the Commander of the UPDF 3 Infantry Division in Moroto Brig Gen Joseph Balikudembe.
Brig Gen Balikudembe revealed this while showcasing part of the recovered guns from the Turkana, Toposa, Matheniko, Bokora, Pokot and Jee; livestock warriors at Moroto barracks.
He noted that experts from the Uganda Police Force will perform a finger printing exercise on the recovered guns as earlier directed by the President and Commander in Chief of UPDF, Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
According to him, this will reduce on the chances of re-using the same guns by unscrupulous individuals for future raids or other criminal acts.
The 3 Division Commander also remarked that the non-usable, rusty and old fashioned guns will be kept in UPDF archives for future reference “while those still in good condition will be back loaded to other divisions.”
Recall that recently, the
Government launched a second phase of the disarmament exercise of the Karimajongs, in a bid to mitigate growing cases of insecurity within and outside the region.
Since the launch, a good number of people have handed over in voluntarily disarmament.
However, a group of Karimajong warriors have since expressed fear of being attacked by pastoralists from the neighbouring Kenya and Sudan, and will not be able to defend themselves, if they handover their guns to government.
“Remember when government removed guns from us in 2001 to 2008 we become peaceful and they were many soldiers on the ground but when some soldiers were removed from the region, many armed neighbouring Pastoralists such as the Toposa of Sudan and Turkana of Kenya crossed and disturbed the people of Karamoja which forced us to acquire guns for protection,” they said.
Those who handed over their guns have received certificates to show that they are no longer armed.
