Pokot community during the consultative meeting held on Monday in Karita Town Council in Amudat district. Photos by Medrine Apio
By Medrine Apio
Amudat: The Pokot community in Amudat district and the Sabiny from the Sebei sub-region have resolved to stop conflicting.
In late 2023, leaders in Sebei Sub-region passed a resolution to evict the Pokot herdsmen who were grazing in their area, accusing them of killing people, destroying crops and stealing livestock.
The conflict climaxed on February 2024, when the Pokot pastoralists, including those who had bought land in Sebei were evicted.
In retaliation, the leadership of Pokot also gave the Sabiny community living in the Amudat district two days to leave, including the civil servants.
Joseph Lobot, the Amudat district chairperson, noted that the conflict intensified after the Sabiny impounded cattle belonging to Pokot herdsmen, while others were evicted from the land they hired in Kween district for grazing.
The resolution, forced 79 technical staff from Sabiny community to flee Amudat out of fear, paralyzing service delivery in the district.
However, on the February 15th, the District Security Committee called for an emergency meeting, and resolved that all the civil servants resume work by the February 19th, as peace was being restored. The workers then restarted work on February 26th.
Emmanuel Oyuku Ocen, the Amudat Chief Administration Officer, said that education and health were among the most affected sectors, because 30% of the staff come from the Sebei sub-region.
Ocen revealed that none of the staff that resumed work has reported any security threat at the work place, and pledged that the district will work with the security committee to ensure the staff are safe.
Jane Twijukye, the Amudat Hospital Administrator observed that sixteen out of the 65 staff from Sebei sub-region fled for safety, which created gaps in the work place as the staff who remained could not work peacefully.
Twijukye, however, noted that the situation has normalized and the staff who fled have all returned to work.
George Owanyi, the Amudat Resident District Commissioner, said that the security is gradually improving as the Pokot and Sabiny have agreed to peacefully co-exist.
Owanyi noted that peace was realized after the Pokot pastoralists and their leaders agreed to fulfill the cultural requirement and compensated the Sabiny community for the deaths and other losses caused during the conflict.
Among the compensations the Pokot community paid before they were allowed to graze in Sebei are 50 cattle and 09 goats to the family of the deceased.
Owanyi appealed to the people of Amudat to embrace peace and never to cause any havoc that would disorganize the relationship with the neighboring districts.
On the March 8th, the top leadership of west Pokot County in Kenya and Pokot in Amudat, and Sabiny from the Sebei sub-region committed to ending conflicts between the two communities to build sustainable peace.
The leaders committed to peacebuilding and co-existence as they signed a joint communique on mediation and consultations between the Pokot of West Pokot County (Kenya), Pokot of Amudat, the Sabiny, the Pian of Nakapiripirit and Nabilatuk districts after three days meeting held at Hotel Africana in Moroto district.
A joint select technical committee composed of two senior members from each district of Bukwo, Kween, Nakapiripirit, Nabilatuk, and Amudat of Uganda, West Pokot County administration, Joint security (UPDF and UPF) and Liaison officers was formed with practical terms of reference, focused to oversee the implementation of the joint communique among other tasks.
Robert Komolle, the West Pokot County Deputy Governor in Kenya re-emphasized the critical need for close collaboration engagements between the authorities on either side since the communities share common interests.
Komolle said that embracing collaboration and unity would help to identify the root causes of conflict and provide lasting solutions for peace.
He also appealed for continuous cross-border peace dialogues to strengthen mutual understanding and trust-building mechanisms for peaceful coexistence.
“I will dedicate my time and energy to move forward for harmonious co-existence amongst the affected agro-pastoral communities.” Komoll said.
Hon Evelyn Chemutai, a Woman Member of Parliament for Bukwo district, also the Chairperson of the Sebei Parliamentary Caucus, underlined that by reaching a joint communique, the leaders from both sides will achieve the desired milestone as they accepted to move together in the spirit of brotherhood and search of lasting security and peace.
Chemutai urged the leaders to commit themselves to providing long-term solutions for peaceful coexistence based on trust, respect, and shared values.
Maj Gen Don William Nabasa, the 3rd Division Commander of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) appealed to leaders to fast-track the implementation of the resolutions contained in the joint communique.
“Let’s go out and implement the workable resolutions amongst communities as leaders for our people. There is a possibility of breaking the ice to save the people,” Gen. Nabasa said.
Good work done
Thanks