Heavy fighting has broken out in the Karamoja region at the Uganda-Kenya border between the Ugandan army and cattle-rustling Karamojong warriors.
The troops were sent in to recover 200 head of cattle apparently looted by Karamojong of the Bokora sub-tribe. They were also supposed to forcibly disarm the Karamojong warriors and recover their weapons. But the troops came under fire when they tried to do so, leading to a fierce battle that ended in the army torching a number of houses.
Karamoja rivals Uganda’s war-torn northern districts for the dubious distinction of being the country’s prime trouble spot. The number of machine guns circulating in this lawless region is estimated to be about 40 000 — about one gun for every 10 people (though some estimates put the number at twice as many).
Armed robberies and killings are commonplace. Since 2001 a disarmament programme has been under way, but this has generally been thought a complete flop, according to Ugandan and Kenyan government officials.
The Karamojong are an interesting bunch. Cousins of the Kenyan Masai, many still live a nomadic, pastoral existence, wandering wherever there is water and grass for their cows.
Until a few decades ago they walked about completely naked, but this practice was outlawed in the 1970s by Idi Amin, who ordered the shooting on sight of any Karamojong caught without clothing.
Like the Masai, the Karamojong believe that cows are sacred. They also believe that all cows in the world belong to them by divine right. In keeping with this belief, they consider it their religious duty to recover as many of the animals as possible in fierce cattle raids on neighbouring tribes.
Before the Amin years, this meant attacking with spears and arrows. Today, with the truly staggering availability of semi-automatic weapons throughout the Horn of Africa, raids are accompanied by a hail of gunfire and often scores of people killed.
Owine Jackson, head of Amelok, a local NGO working for peace, says: ‘There is no bargaining with a Karamojong warrior, just death. He shoots you, then he loots your possessions — your cows, your food, anything else of value.â€
No one really knows why the disarmament process failed. Some say it wasn’t carried out even-handedly. Some clans were disarmed and others not, but no protection was offered to the ones who handed in their guns.
The process was handled so badly in certain sub-counties that the government had to return guns to some communities, like the Turkana of Kenya, so they could defend themselves against neighbouring raiders.
Cattle aside, general insecurity is worsening in Karamoja. There has been a recent broadening of activity beyond traditional cattle-rustling to include stealing food and robbing vehicles, which is partly the result of a lack of job opportunities.
At a time when much of the rest of Uganda is flourishing, Karamoja is falling behind in every respect. Literacy is running at an unbelievably low 6% (compared with a national average of 70%); diseases and child mortality are the highest in East Africa; only 1% of Karamojong have ever used a telephone. It appears the only aspect of economic development that has really penetrated Karamoja is the sub-machine gun.
Stopping guns getting into Karamoja is not really an option. The region has a border with southern Sudan and is only a short journey from Somalia, two of the most prolific sources of firearms in the world.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army has made a small fortune trafficking cheap arms into the region.
‘There is no stopping guns coming from Sudan and other places — our borders are too light and porousâ€, says As John Abingua, district commissioner for Moroto, Karamoja’s largest district.
‘For the most part there are no roads to police. Gun traffickers smuggle their weapons through the bush.â€
In spite of this sober assessment, there are lots of peace initiatives in Karamoja, most of them aiming to build better trust between the region’s various sub-clans.
Besides development projects, there are women’s organisations working to diffuse some of the aggression in this very male-dominated society. Similar to the ‘you boys don’t impress us with your big guns†message made famous by the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, the approach is apparently having some success.
Perhaps this confirms the age-old maxim that men will stop fighting each other when women make them feel silly.