After a series of attacks, the UPDF secures the Moroto-Kotido road.
His remarks come as NGOs in the region have shied away from conducting initiatives in the field due to a lack of proper security in the implementation area.
Despite sporadic incidences, the UPDF has rejected reports that Moroto-Kotido Road is unsafe and assures the public that the situation is under control.
Following ambushes on citizens and security officers, the public has raised concern about the safety and security situation on some highways. Abraham Lomongin, a former UNICEF worker who was shot dead near Rikitae in Kotido right after Toror hills, was killed in one of the attacks.
In the livestock corridors surrounding Kalosarich, on the boundary between Moroto, Napak, and Kotido districts, there have also been gunfights between government troops and warriors. Around Toror Hills on Thursday, warriors launched stones at a Post Bank car, shattering the windscreen. A motorist was allegedly robbed by suspected warriors on the same day before being released.
Armed warriors ambushed a vehicle belonging to the Commandant of the Anti Stock Theft Unit-ASTU last week while conducting normal personnel checks in the Kaabong area. According to police regional spokesperson Michael Longole, one Assistant Inspector of Police known as Lokwii, the commandant Loyoro was shot and injured in the right arm.
However, Captain Edrin Mawanda, a spokesman for the 3rd Division Infantry, claims that the route has been totally guarded and that the public is free to travel to and from Kotido now that security has been tightened up. He claims that there are multiple motorized patrols on this highway, as well as a security checkpoint near Kalosarich, and that their backup personnel are on high alert.
His remarks come as NGOs in the region have shied away from conducting initiatives in the field due to a lack of proper security in the implementation area. Following intelligence that Jie and Dodoth warriors have permanently gone to the jungles, fearing the continued forceful disarming, our reporter saw that a number of NGOs going on long field activities have always obtained security from the police.
The Kotido District Chairperson, Paul Komollotee, disagrees that the route is secure, and has ordered the UPDF to set up detaches at strategic spots along the roadway. He claims that multiple instances have been reported on the route, and that it appears to be unsafe for the time being.
