Kenya seeks out of court settlement for 42 herders jailed in Uganda
Thursday October 19 2023
UPDF officers on Moroto – Kotido road in Napak District, Uganda escorting Karamojong herders after rescuing herds of cattle from the Pokot rustlers in 2019. PHOTO | MORGANI MBABAZI | NMG
Kenya’s Turkana County leaders are now seeking an out-of-court settlement for the release of 42 herders serving sentences in various prisons in Uganda for offences that include killings, livestock theft, and possession of illegal firearms, ammunition, and crude weapons.
The county's Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai and Speaker Christopher Nakuleu have vowed to secure the release of the herders, offering to recompense for lives lost as earlier demanded by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
“We have decided to adopt the use of existing traditional justice systems that allow for compensation of lives lost for sustained peace and security at the border.
“We are engaging as leaders to ensure funds are available to purchase the required number of cattle that will secure the release of 42 Turkana herders serving sentences in northern Uganda,” Lomorukai told herders who have settled in Loima Sub County.
Read: MP petitions for release of Kenyans jailed in Uganda
It comes days after Ugandans avoided the recent Turkana Tourism and Cultural Festival popularly known as Tobong’u Lore cultural festival that ended last Saturday. Traditionally, they often sent delegations or even participated.
President William Ruto graced the festival which is traditionally used to bring together pastoralist communities from Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan to resolve underlying conflicts.
Compensation for lives and cattle lost during raids was among the demands that were given by Museveni in a May executive order that also banned Turkana herders from crossing over to Uganda. The herders were jailed in April this year following a martial court trial. Ugandan law allows civilians to be tried in military courts for offences such as being in possession of firearms without relevant authorisation.
In April, the 32 herders met their convictions in the 3rd Division Military Court Martial based in Moroto District in Uganda. They were sentenced to 20 years in Moroto Government Prison over illegal possession of firearms and ammunition after 31 guns and 752 rounds of ammunition as well as crude weapons were recovered.
Three geologists and two Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF) officers had been killed last year during a raid allegedly masterminded by Turkana herders. Uganda has also demanded that the killers be handed over for murder trial, before the 32 are freed.
Read: Museveni demands Kenya extradites herders for murder trial
UPDF’s Col Richard Obura Kidega, the 403 Infantry Brigade Commander who represents the 3 Division Commander has also said that following the killing of the geologists, Kenyan authorities are required to present the killers to their Ugandan counterparts for prosecution and justice.
Kenya and Uganda often extradite suspects on each other’s territories, under provisions of the East African Community. For the Turkanas, however, the issue of identification has been problematic given most of the herders are not in the official national identification registry.
The ban has left more than 30,000 pastoralists suffering due to prolonged drought in Loima and Turkana West Sub Counties.
The jailing of the herders had also caught the attention of Kenya's Chief Justice Martha Koome who at a forum in Nairobi generally asked for cross-border justice for all.
“Whereas we are treating people from the other side justly and fairly, we are not receiving any reciprocation from the other side,” she said on Tuesday, without referring to the herders.
“Those issues are of concern because the world around us is rapidly evolving and there are even no borders as it were," she added.
Meanwhile, the joint security team of Uganda last Wednesday handed over 91 cows and 12 donkeys to Turkana pastoralists after they surrendered two guns to the UPDF in Moroto District.
Read: Uganda hands over to Kenya six cattle rustling suspects
This follows a recent encounter between the 403 Infantry Brigade with armed Turkana herdsmen in the areas of Naput along the Uganda-Kenya borderline in late September 2023.
During the encounter, the Turkana ran back to their territory leaving behind 91 heads of cattle and 12 donkeys. They were later given a condition by security commanders to hand over guns used before getting back the cows.