- She said Karamoja and Turkana have been living peacefully because of the meetings conducted by both community leaders.
- Munyes said the programme will engage youths, women, elders, and government authorities that will go to kraals to preach peace.
Image: HESBORN ETYANG
Kenya and Uganda leaders have agreed to renew peace meetings in a bid to restore peace and security.
The leaders held a meeting organised by the Pastoralist Parliamentary Group in collaboration with Drylands Learning and Capacity Building Initiative in Kakuma Turkana West subcounty.
The meeting on Friday brought leaders and elders from Uganda’s Karamoja region, including Kotido, Kaabong, and Karenga districts, and also leaders from the Turkana West subcounty.
Uganda’s Minister of Ethics and Integrity who doubles up as the Karenga District MP Rose Akello said there’s a need to renew peace meetings to restore peace and security.
“Years back we used to have peace meetings. Turkana and Karamoja are all Ateker cluster and we are one family but sometimes there are issues which divide the two communities,” she said.
She said Karamoja and Turkana have been living peacefully because of the meetings conducted by both community leaders but when the talks stopped cattle rustling and killings escalated.
Akello who led the Ugandan delegation said peace talks were fruitful because they experienced peaceful coexistence and the communities could carry out barter trade business.
“Can we come together and forge a way how our people can stay together in harmony to promote peaceful existence and, business activities, we don’t have to shed blood yet we are a family,” she said.
She has urged the Kenyan, and Ugandan governments and other stakeholders to facilitate cross-border peacebuilding by reviving the grassroots meetings in kraals and also involve women.
The Kenya delegation led by former Cabinet Secretary for Petroleum and Mining John Munyes and Turkana West MP Daniel Epuyo said cross-border peace meetings will address the conflict between the two communities.
“We just came out of a drought that affected our people and as we got rains, cattle rustling escalated. We want to meet as leaders to see how we can solve this menace,” Munyes said.
He said they will roll out the programme together with the leadership of the Dodoth, Jie, and Turkana to start meetings by bringing them together and put a root of peace to resolve animosity that’s affecting pastoralists.
Munyes said the programme will engage youths, women, elders, and government authorities that will go to kraals to preach peace and to stop further killings and cattle rustling
“As Ateker community we need to call for more investments in the region, we need to get an alternative to pastoralism and engage in farming and explore the mining but we cannot do that without peace,” he warned.
MP Epuyo, who is also the vice chair of the Pastoralist Parliamentary Group decried that 32 Kenyans were tried and jailed for 20 years during their stay in Uganda.
He said this happened despite their courtesy to host the pastoralists and their livestock from Turkana North, Turkana Central and Loima who were searching for water and pastures during the drought.
“We understand that there are laws in Kenya, Uganda and East Africa…..maybe our people did not follow the law. I would want to appeal in the spirit of East Africa cooperation that those who were court-martialed by the Ugandan government can have mercy and have these people tried in Kenya within the Kenyan framework because we will live together,” Epuyo said.
Chief Executive Officer of Drylands Learning and Capacity Building Jarso Mokku said pastoralists from Turkana crossed to Uganda in search of water and pasture and pleaded for their release.
“We are trying to solve the problem. We are trying to locate the animals and return them back because, in the past Uganda, authorities had helped Kenyans recover some of their stolen animals,”