Simon Nangiro

English

Research Papers in Economics

The Impact of Insecurity on 
Livelihood and Social Service 
Provision in Kotido District 
 
Nangiro, Simon. 2005. 
Human Development Report Office 
OCCASIONAL PAPER 
 
2005/21 
UNDP HDI Violent Conflict:  
 
The impact of insecurity   on   livelihood and social service   provision in   Kotido district: 
(By Nangiro Simon) 
Introduction: 
 
From January 2002 to date, Oxfam GB Kotido field office has been keeping a daily digest of 
insecurity incidences. This summary is an attempt to analysis the nature and impact of insecurity   
on   livelihood and social service   provision in   Kotido district. It is based on Oxfam GB Kotido 
project field experience of living and working with the pastoral women and men in Kotido district. 
 
Background: 
 
Karamoja lies in the northeastern corner of Uganda, bordering Sudan and Kenya. It is divided into 
three administrative districts namely, Kotido in the north, Moroto in the centre and Nakapiripirit in 
the south. The name Karamoja is today used to include all the inhabitants of Karamoja. Karamoja 
region is semi-arid, with an average rainfall of 500-700mm per annum, variable in space and 
time. In response to these environmental conditions, the Karimojong take on extensive livestock 
keeping as their principal economic activity. They supplement this by opportunistically maintaining 
small gardens and fields of local crops.  
 
Karamoja presents a unique development challenge for unlike the rest of Uganda it is semi-arid, 
and characterised by a combination of acute poverty, vulnerability to drought, poor infrastructure 
and basic social services delivery, limited marketing opportunities, natural resource degradation, 
social and cultural marginalisation, long-standing dependency on external aid and most 
importantly chronic insecurity. The region is the least socially and economically developed in 
Uganda, even among the generally poorer parts of northern Uganda as a whole. 
 
Both the colonial and post-colonial governments viewed the Karimojong pastoralists production 
system and way of life as chaotic, outdated, economically unproductive, and environmentally 
destructive. Efforts were therefore made to settle them through imposition of boundaries, 
gazetting of land for game and forest reserves, restriction of movement to dry season grazing 
areas, forced de-stocking, marginalisation of customary institutions, and the intensification of 
cropping. With the result that there was increased competition for the already limited scarce 
resources leading to a declines of average herd sizes and destitution of pastoralist households. 
With no alternative to pastoralism, livestock raiding has emerged as a key livelihood strategy by 
some. 
 
The failure, of Government and other development actors to address pastoral destitution has 
encouraged the 'institutionalisation' of violent conflict and raiding as part of pastoralism in 
Karamoja. Not surprisingly conflict is chronic and is part of daily life. The heavy militarization of 
the region arising from many years of misrule and breakdown of administration in Uganda has 
created a situation in which lawlessness; deprivation of life and property and gun yielding has 
become the order of the day. 
 
The human impact of raiding and conflict in Karamoja is difficult to quantify. Gray (2000) reports 
that of more than 300 women interviewed during 1998 and 1999, virtually every one had lost 
either a husband or at least one male child to intra-tribal violence within the Karimojong. Raiding 
has become a major cause of poverty, removing a household’s assets at a stroke. Ocan (1992) 
found in fieldwork that out of 160 respondents in Karamoja, 47 had lost cattle completely. The 
increased scale of raiding, particularly in the last decade, has led to periodic displacement of 
communities within Karamoja itself and in neighbouring districts and is also suggested to have 
had environmental impacts through the tendency of pastoralists to concentrate livestock for 
added security. The militarisation of Karamoja society has also had an impact on cultural 
institutions, and destruction of livelihood survival strategies.   
According to the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN) of IGAD, 
approximately seven hundred and twenty five (725) people were killed and 18,875 livestock were 
lost in the Karamoja region between June 2003 and April 2004. This high number of people killed 
and livestock lost depicts how grave the problem is and is more likely to continue to more 
suffering and loss of livelihoods and displacements. 
 
In Uganda today the majority of street children and women estimated at over 20,000 in major 
towns such as Mbale, Iganga, Jinja and Kampala are from the Karamoja region. These are direct 
victims of poverty and insecurity in Karamoja.  
 
Context: Causes of Insecurity and its manifestation: 
 
Insecurity manifests itself in form of cattle raids, road banditry, looting of villages, properties and 
killing of people. These are frequent and indiscriminate in times of hardships such as drought, 
inter-communal conflicts and during clashes that may involve government forces against LRA 
rebels or armed pastoralists. 
 
Livestock Raids: As already noted pastoral poverty and destitution has encouraged the adoption 
of violent conflict and raiding as part of pastoralism in Karamoja. This occurs in the form of inter-
ethnic cattle raiding, often pitying one group against one another in a series of successive counter 
and revenge raids. Small groups of two to five youth steal small number of livestock, which if 
unchecked climaxes into communal raids involving a whole tribe. This situation is worse during 
times of hardship such food insecurity and worsens when there are no concrete interventions 
from government to mitigate the situation.   
  
Livestock raiding is not confined to Karimojong pastoralist people alone but also their immediate 
neighbors in the Karimojong cluster and the neighboring districts. The nature of raids has since 
become complex and gruesome on the immediate people involved.  90 percent of reported cattle 
raiding incidences occur in the mobile Kraals and settlements during the night. 
 
Loss of livestock and lives: As a result of raiding, many people have lost their cattle to raiders 
and are left with no other alternative to resort to. This leads cyclical raiding and to absolute 
poverty on the victims. On 22
nd March 2004 for example, the Dodoth raided the Turkana of Kenya 
who were grazing their livestock in Dodoth territory. According to the Turkana District Veterinary 
Department 17,400 people crossed over to Uganda with 58,800 cattle, 145,000 shoats and 5,880 
donkeys. After the conflict 8,715 cattle, 7,250 shoats and 527 donkeys died due to lack of water 
and 2,915 cattle 7,250 shoats and 174 donkeys were lost to the raiders. Sources from Turkana 
(Kenya) said that, the area around Oropoi was all littered with carcasses as thousands of 
livestock and human beings clustered around this small center stressing the already scarce water 
sources. 
 
Disruption of cropping activities: People fear to tilt their gardens for fear of being attacked by 
raiders and has led to the abandonment of farm lands especially those whose gardens are far 
from settlements.  Raiders have in the recent past abducted people from their gardens and forced 
them to reveal were livestock are kept. The victims are often tortured or killed and women and 
girls are raped or abducted as wives. Ripe gardens are harvested. 
 High way road banditry: High way banditry gave a new face and impetus to the insecurity and 
conflict, often targeting money and valuables for sale including livestock on transit. The victims 
have been travelers, the business community and service providers. 
 
Road banditry is frequent on road highways where over 100 people have lost their lives in 
different ambushes along isolated spots between 2003 and 2004 alone. Twice Oxfam GB Kotido 
project staff has involve in road ambushes in December 2002 and in February 2003 along 
highways in Karamoja in which staff were injured and lost property.  
 
Insecurity has made difficult and in some cases impossible for many households to sell their 
cattle to the markets.  Over ten lorries ferrying livestock have been ambushed along the Kotido- 
Mbale highway.  Acts such as these led to a decrease in cattle trade due to fear of loosing cattle 
to the raiders. Road banditry reduced earnings from livestock marketing as the following record 
illustrates. 
 
Date      Sales  in  Uganda  shillings 
13 November 2002       53,519 314.00 
11 December 2002      15,464,000.00 
15 January 2003        5,100 000.00 
5 March 2003           4,121 600.00 
 
Government disarmament and Indiscipline from Government Forces: Where there is tension 
and distrust between the security agencies and the local communities such as when enforcing 
law and order, violence sometimes erupts. In the face of these brutalities and violence, there 
have been human rights abuse issues. The government program for disarmament in the region is 
still on, aimed at removing all illegally owned guns from the area. This has not been an easy 
exercise and often led to clashes that often spill over to widespread communal violence
1. In 
Kotido the Jie warriors resisted provoking equal reaction from the government forces (UPDF). In 
May 2002, Panyangara Sub County experienced a violent conflict in which 900 households were 
left without livelihood support items.  A Number of organizations helped the victims to rebuild their 
lives and livelihood. Oxfam supported distribution of Non Food Items worth over Ugh.100 million 
in the area.  
 
There have been cases where robbery and killings has been associated with security forces such 
as the local administration police (LAPs), and the army. In 2002 two UPDF soldiers killed an Irish 
catholic priest Fr. Declan Otoole of Panyangara mission Kotido as he was travelling from Moroto 
to Kotido.  
 
The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels activities: The activities of the LRA in northern 
Uganda especially in the neighbouring districts of Katakwii, Soroti, Kaberemaido, Lira, Gulu, 
Kitgum and Pader from southern Sudan caused a lot of displacement in these areas. This led to 
the displacement of over 3000 children whom the humanitarian agencies are supporting in Kotido 
district. Those captured were turned into child soldiers.   
 
The LRA infiltrated Kotido district and attacked Abim trading center 75 kilometres from the Oxfam 
Kotido Town district head quarters. The Target for the rebels included attempts to replenish drugs 
through attacking and looting health facilities and in July 2003, Abim Hospital and Morulem health 
centre were ransacked off supplies. 
 
Impact on social services: Experience shows that increased insecurity affected the delivery of 
social services in the Kotido district such as health, education, water and shortage of supplies 
such as food, fuel. Development initiatives have stagnated or are performing at lowest capacity. 
The Government agents and other service providers are escorted by heavily armed guards during 
the execution of their duties, which creates an additional financial   burden usually not budgeted 
                                                 
1 Twice the UPDF have clashed the people of Panyangara in the process of disarmament.  for. This has disrupted the surveillance and monitoring of diseases, as well as organisation and 
delivery of health care. These have affected the population, particularly children, who die of 
curable and preventable diseases such as malaria and diarrhoea. 
 
The raids have led to the destruction of health and educational infrastructure. During raids, 
hospital facilities are overstretched and staff overwhelmed.  In raids, between 50-100 men are 
usually wounded from the average of between 150-300 people who participate in a raid. Many 
Health Workers and teachers desert their work for fear of being killed in these skirmishes. 
Between 2003 and 2004 2 health workers and 5 teachers were killed in their duty stations.   
 
Conclusion and Policy implications 
 
The causes of insecurity in Karamoja are complex however, pastoral poverty and 
underdevelopment is at the heart and as such calls for the development of national and sectoral 
policies on pastoral development if the root causes of conflict is to be sought (Rob walker 2002).   
There is need for the development of an overarching policy on pastoralism which, better identifies 
causes of poverty in pastoral areas, recognises continuing viability of mobile pastoralism and 
supports pastoralists’ right to choose their livelihood strategy. The policies should Identify 
priorities, principles and approaches for pastoral areas, in relation to: land tenure, management of 
natural resources, livelihood diversification, drought management, appropriate formal and non 
formal education provision, livestock health services, disease control and marketing, appropriate 
preventive human health services, appropriate development and management of water sources, 
infrastructure and telecommunications and countering biases and misperceptions about 
pastoralism. 
 
Uganda has an opportunity to mainstream pastoral issues into existing and emerging policies, 
legislation and planning frameworks such as the poverty eradication action plan (PEAP), the plan 
for modernization of Agriculture (PMA), the National Land Policy and National Land Use Policy.  
The Draft policy on improvement of veterinary services Draft Mines Bill and Policy and legislation 
on Wildlife Reserves among others.  
 
References: 
 
Oxfam GB Uganda (2005) Kotido Field Office: Daily security incidents udates 2005.  
Kotido district local government (2005): veterinary department. Annual Livestock sales data.  
Gray, S.J. (2000) A Memory Of Loss: Ecological Politics, Local History, And The Evolution Of 
Karimojong Violence. Human Organisation, Vol 59, No. 4, 2000. 
Ocan, C.E. (1992) Pastoral Crisis in North-eastern Uganda: The changing significance of cattle 
raids. Working Paper No. 21, CBR, Kampala. 
Odhiambo, M.O. (2000) Karamoja Conflict Study. A Report to Oxfam GB in Uganda, March 2000. 
Robert Walker (2002): Anti-pastoralism and the growth of poverty and insecurity in Karamoja: 
Disarmament and development dilemmas. A report to DfID Uganda:   
 
 
 

A Memory Of Loss: Ecological Politics, Local History, And The Evolution Of Karimojong Violence. Human Organisation,

Anti-pastoralism and the growth of poverty and insecurity in Karamoja: Disarmament and development dilemmas. A report to DfID Uganda:

Karamoja Conflict Study. A Report to Oxfam GB in Uganda,

Kotido Field Office: Daily security incidents udates 2005. Kotido district local government (2005): veterinary department. Annual Livestock sales data.

Pastoral Crisis in North-eastern Uganda: The changing significance of cattle raids.

The Impact of Insecurity on Livelihood and Social Service Provision in Kotido District

http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2005/papers/HDR2005_Nangiro_Simon_21.pdf

The Impact of Insecurity on Livelihood and Social Service Provision in Kotido District

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