Transparency key to fixing Awach road

By Nelson Otim Olwit 

AWACH road in Abim district has got unique features and soil characteristics that require serious work to put it right for sustainable use. It’s the only major road that connects Awach Sub County to Abim district headquarters and to other locations within Labwor County by joining it to the Lira-Abim-Kotido highway. 

There is no road in Abim district of the same distance, a paltry 12 kilometers which has consumed more money in its repairs than this road.

Photo Credit: Hilton Achilla, October 2021

I recall in around financial year 2014/2015,  some 200 million shillings was spent on maintance work of Awach road under the supervision of the "Roads Engineer" who hails from the same Sub County and uses the same road quite often.  I remember part of the money was meant to  construct side drainages and embankments plus culverts. However, within a short time after repair, the road deteriorated again. 

We have seen for years, several culverts abandoned near the sites where they were installed. Around the same time, or slightly after the road works, a mansion belonging to those who were in charge of supervision of the road was constructed at a record time to completion. 

People have also been pointing at some house near the road with a red/brown roof on your left as you enter Awach Trading Centre but before the school. I don't know whether it's true or not. We need to connect the dots.

This time we had a real chance and real money under Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) and there should have  not been any excuse. I never expected what we see today because, I personally presided over the initial meeting with the technical team that came to see which roads to prioritize and the popular Awach road was the first name that came out of my lips and it was seconded immediately. 

We all knew that DINU will give enough money that can be commensurate to that road and indeed enough money was allocated after the assessment was done. How come the work is not complete todate and yet the contract is not terminated? What was the contract duration and scope of work? Is it complete? How come no body is complaining about the contractor as expected?

To make it even better, the District Chairperson and the roads Engineer happen to come from Awach who should have known  the challenges of that road and supervised well. 

There was also rumours and allegations that percentages for kickback and racket was broad and some of the monies ended up into people's pockets and therefore the contractor had to do savings by cutting costs through shoddy work. I don't know whether some new buildings were constructed after or during the same period. Those on the ground can attest to this or help us connect the dots.

Former RDC Samuel Mpimbaza  Hashaka made noise and allegations during that time that the money was swindled. We took it as his usual "False allegation and witch-hunting". Still we can not say it's true since no body has been implicated.

Again, the blessings we have is that the current District Chairperson, the roads Engineer and many influential persons in the district hail from Awach including the Head of Finance whom I rightly assume must be glad to use a good road to visit the mother inlaw in Awach. With all these influential people, Awach road should be fixed before Christmas.

I have good friends and some relatives whom I may need to visit during Christmas break. My prayer is that by that time the road will be fixed to allow free and easy movement of people and goods.

Above all, we elected an MP under a popular slogan “Yooleng” and some of the key funders and supporters of the MP were and are from Awach . How do we expect Awach road to remain like that? What will the people think? Yooleng slogan should be well translated into community development such as yoo, (road) which aids in economic and social transformation.  

As an opposition to the current MP ( because I contested against him during  the NRM Primaries), I challenge the MPs to follow up the matter together with the District and ensure the road is fixed well and for good. If not, we shall mobilize the people to demonstrate.

Nelson Olwit Otim is a Leadership & Governance Expert who served Abim District Local Government for over 16 years in different administrative roles before opting for early retirement in 2020 at the rank of Acting Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. He contested as MP for Labwor County under the ruling National Resistance Movement party in 2021, but electorates did't prefer him at the primary elections. Nelson hopes to retake the political task again in 2026.

Will Disarmament Offer a Permanent Solution to Cattle Rustling?

By Henry Okidi Okoth
A story in Daily Monitor of June 3 reporting that 17 people were shot dead in two weeks in revenge cattle raids in Karamoja caught my attention. Of recent, the media has written a lot about the worsening security situation in Karamoja. 

There was one of a daring raid at Lt Gen Andrew Gutti’s ancestral home in Napak District. The hope in pending fresh disarmament as a solution to the elusive security in those reports stands out for me.

The Karimojong were not born cattle raiders. The mass raiding was set in Karamoja as a result of trade in ivory with the Swahilis, Arabs, Persians, Greeks, and Abyssinians. 

The Karimojong exchanged ivory for beads until when the foreign traders resorted to raiding animals to close ivory deals. 
“Once the trade had started it was inevitable that a tribe which found its traditional enemies armed with rifles was itself anxious to obtain arms. 

What started as a trade to obtain ivory soon became a trade to obtain guns” argued Barber J. P, a Colonial historian in a 1962 publication The Karamoja District of Uganda: A pastoral people under colonial rule.

The security situation in Karamoja improved after the disarmament programme started in 2001. People restocked animals; businesses revived and NGOs resumed operation. However, the relative peace was short-lived. 

A decade later, illegal guns re-emerged. This is a big threat to the livelihoods and survival of about 1.2m people. We should find answers to two tough questions. Why is insecurity in Karamoja not a priority to the government and how will routine disarmament bring sustainable peace in Karamoja?

Traditionally, the kraal elders officiated in both internal and external pastoral peace diplomatic issues. Today, they are sidelined. It is the army, police, NGOs/CSOs at the forefront handling complex pastoral conflicts. 

The elected leaders take well-calculated involvements because security as an agenda plays a pivotal factor during political campaigns in Karamoja.

We often stick to the official narrative that the current government has stabilized the country and that Ugandans are enjoying peace and stability they never imagined they could attain. As other parts of the country may enjoy relative peace, it remains a dream for Karamoja.

The armed Karimojong warriors have never been a big threat to the State. They were government allies during the Teso rebellion and in the war against the Lord’s Resistance Army. 

When the LRA rebels attacked Morulem dispensary in Abim in December 1998, the Karimojong warriors fought alongside the army and defeated the rebels. Many people of Bartanga/Loketo trading centre in Abim District can narrate how warriors were returned from the battlefields in armoured vehicles of the UPDF, chanting victory songs amidst jubilation and cheering from the villagers.

Basing on the above scenario, unlike a rebel group, the illegally armed armed Karimojong warriors are not interested in state power and have nothing to do with politics. The government will therefore attend to major threats like the ADF rebels or terrorists, and what president 

Museveni recently described as ‘pigs who do not value life” However, the Karamojong warriors will continue to kill people in Karamoja and those in the neighbouring districts to obtain cattle. 

The pending fresh disarmament brings hope to the people in Karamoja and its neighbours but will not provide a permanent solution. The warriors will keep acquiring guns through the porous borders of Kenya and South Sudan. 

So long as the Turkana pastoralists of Kenya and counterparts in South Sudan like the Toposa remain armed, disarming the Karamojong is a temporary solution. This is a plain truth.

Henry Okidi Okoth is a social researcher with an interest in conflict, poverty, and marginalisation. This article first appeared in The Daily Monitor newspaper of June 5th, 2021.

Author'sblog: www.henryokidiokoth.blogspot.com