Uganda, Kenya enter pact on pastoralists

The Ugandan and Kenyan authorities have agreed on a pact granting grazing rights in Karamoja to some 3,000 Kenyan Turkana pastoralists with about 15,000 cattle who had crossed the Kenya-Uganda border in June and entered the Kidepo national park. A delegation of Turkana elders, led by Turkana north Member of Parliament John Munyes visited Kotido [northeastern Uganda] last week, where an agreement to allow the pastoralists to graze in Timu and Loyoro in Kaabong county was reached. The Ugandan government had initially given the pastoralists up to 20 July to vacate the park or face “forceful” eviction. “If they had gone back, all their animals would have died,” the MP said. Meanwhile, 600 armed Kenyan Pokot tribesmen have crossed over to Kapchorwa district in eastern Uganda, Ugandan radio reported on Monday. It quoted the area’s deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Patrick Engirot as confirming the report, adding that they were grazing in the lower parts of the district. The Kenyans have reportedly moved with their families and “opened up maize gardens” and settled in the area.