By Charles Donaldson Ogira
apearlnews.com
Karamoja sub-region is one of the highly pronounced conflicts in Uganda after the war-ravaged LRA lords subjected the country to instability. The communities in Karamoja still live in suspense since the peace and stability is at scale-pan in Karamoja despite the government attempts through UPDF efforts to keep peace in Karamoja.
For the first time on 27th/06/2021 in the leadership of Karamoja, a top governance leadership like the legislatures from the region had never convened together to preach social tranquility and social justice in the society for her own sake of harmony and coexistence.
The political panacea of Karamoja demonstrated a zealous effort through the new dawn of leadership which exposed the leadership under the Karamoja parliamentary forum board on the commonwealth parliamentary bus to reach down to their electorates to seek feedback for their advocacy and legislations sake.
This is something that has not only showed the legislatures wit in strengthening the governance concept in Karamoja, but it has also shown various highly conflicting communities’ leadership express remorse to the afflicted communities of Abim and Karenga, these are the highly affected societies in Karamoja with extra-judicial killings, raids, animal theft and other inhumane socially unacceptable actions that depress people’s rights.
This was evident with the lead local government of Kotido District Mr. Paul Lotee Komol, Chairperson Kotido District Local Government earmarked saying “The leadership of Kotido is solidly behind peacebuilding in Karamoja and thus, he is further quoted saying, through you chairman KPG, I tender my apology on behalf of the people of Kotido District to the people of Abim District for the atrocities, extrajudicial killings among other actions that are degrading we did on you, may God hear our prayers so that, we bring peace back to Karamoja again.”
These are positive efforts highly appreciated thus, the need for trauma healing, psychosocial support aiding transitional justice as a driving force key to the human development in Karamoja and the sustenance of peace in the region and this would be further realized through CSOs, tribal leaders of various ethnic groups, religious leaders and other government agencies mainstreamed in the process to let effort at sustaining peace in Karamoja a complete cycle.
If these efforts are not mere scams to prolong leaders’ stay in power by the legislatures under KPG, we hope to reap a lot with these new developments coming through the leadership. Karamoja requires a clear-headed leadership that cannot easily be subdued for the sake of their electorate’s future and welfare; thus, the legislatures should hinge on transitional justice as a human development stratum for curbing down other socio-economic problems underlying in Karamoja region.
Another looming challenge unattended to is the mineral exploitation of the region where the top leaderships have gazette some of the prominent mineral sites while evacuating locals with little or no compensation.
Local people have resorted to working with unlicensed mineral companies that continue to suppress them in terms of pay and royalties for the gold mined by artisan miners.
Leaving this sector unattended will affect the peace of Karamoja further. Without any doubt, evidence has shown inhumane approaches to mineral exploitation leaving people in Amudat and other regions dead and expecting mothers getting either stillbirth or dying in the same consequence as a result of the mercury explosions that affects their ill health, these are double jeopardies caused by the insecurity in Karamoja that requires trauma healing before the government invests in the exploitation of minerals.
Sources allege several government actors more so the UPDF that have continued to subdue people for the sake of mineral exploitation and these are degrading actions since the government is entitled to a tripartite obligation to respect, promote and protect the rights of her citizens.
Conclusively, the government of Uganda should strengthen the leadership capacity of Karamoja MPs so that they can respond to some of these shocks in their communities and also transcend the personal capacity to the intergenerational trauma that would lead to an alternative leadership for Karamoja.
About Author
Charles Donaldson Ogira is the Executive Director at Youth Forum for Social Justice, a grassroots youth-led human rights defenders organization operating in Abim district.
He is a human rights defender contributing to Uganda’s Universal Periodic Review processes with recommendations contributing to the human rights situations of Karamoja.
