Karamoja –– Ugandans always like only criticising men and women in uniforms whenever any slight mistake is committed by an individual officer; however, they don’t always give credit where men and women in uniform have done a good job. Here is where the two commanders handling Karamoja issues need to be credited.
When Assistant Commissioner of Police Francis Chemusto took over from Commissioner Erias Kasirabo as Commandant of the Anti-Stock Theft Unit for the whole of Teso, Northern Uganda and Karamoja, there were a lot of whispers among the leaders and even within the forces whether Chemusto could manage to consolidate what Commissioner Kasirabo left.
But now those who were negative about Chemusto are testifying that the commander has done a commendable job by ensuring that there is no transportation of animals at night, no animal movement without valid documents, and no use of shortcuts transporting animals outside Karamoja. All this Mr Chemusto has achieved by involving all the stakeholders in the region.
As of now, this publication can also testify that the usual rampant animal theft in Karamoja has drastically disappeared, apart from isolated cases where one or two animals are stolen and quickly slaughtered within the region.
Right now, people are moving freely grazing their animals without any fears of them being stolen.
As Assistant Commissioner Chemusto is busy eradicating transportation of stolen animals, Lt Gen Wilberforce Sseronkoma, the 3rd Division Commander, on his side is also busy ensuring that no stealing of animals from kraals occurs where traders get access to load and transport them to other regions.
After taking over command from Lt Gen Don Nabasa, Lt Gen Sseronkoma started his work first by calling a meeting with all the security actors, political leaders, religious leaders and opinion leaders.
This meeting gave Lt Gen Sseronkoma a clear picture of how to end criminality in Karamoja.
The continuous dialogue has brought meaningful peace without any more confrontation.
This is the reason why the two commanders need applause and appreciation for work well done.
Leaders in the region have also confirmed that there is relative peace so far in the region compared to previous years.
John Paul Loupa, an elder, confirmed that Karamoja was now peaceful and that even the cattle raids have gone down.
“We could not sleep, but now people are sleeping with their livestock in the kraals without being disturbed,” he said.
Mr Loupa said it is only the drought that has dried up big dams in the region, adding that this might cause the loss of livestock in the region.
