Agency
The government says it has made significant progress in evicting migrant cattle keepers from Northern Uganda, with more than 60,000 cattle reportedly removed from the region amid intensified security operations.
State Minister for Northern Uganda Rehabilitation, Kenneth Omona, said the eviction exercise has so far achieved an estimated 85 per cent success rate following the implementation of an Executive Order issued by President Yoweri Museveni in June last year.
Speaking during a community baraza held at Labala Primary School in Pabbo Sub-County, Amuru District, on Thursday, Omona said the ongoing joint operations by the Uganda Police Force and the UPDF have compelled many migrant cattle keepers to return to their areas of origin.
According to the minister, Northern Uganda had an estimated 80,000 cattle belonging to migrant herders, some reportedly originating from as far as the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
However, he accused some residents, particularly in Amuru District, of colluding with migrant cattle keepers by falsely claiming ownership of cattle targeted in the eviction exercise.
Despite the reported progress, residents at the baraza raised fresh complaints of land grabbing and illegal displacement allegedly linked to some influential migrant cattle keepers in the district.
