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Kenya/Uganda: A joint agreement on disarmament

By on March 25, 2010
The governments of Kenya and Uganda have signed an agreement on a joint program of disarmament in an effort to end cross-border raids. The two countries have formed a joint technical committee in Nairobi to oversee the disarmament program, and   then discussed the logistical and structural methods to be applied to remove the weapons of armed groups, including warriors, namely in the north-western Kenya and eastern Uganda.

The Ugandan government has recovered more than 27. 000 illegal weapons from the hands of Karamojongs and other armed groups in eastern and intensified the simultaneous recovery of the 1,000 remaining weapons that still are in the hands of militias in the region.
In 2002, a disarmament program in Karamoja region has put an end to raids on the livestock community. Karamoja is a region previously neglected, but since the beginning of disarmament, peace prevails and vast lands are now dedicated to agriculture and the children go to school.
From his side Kenya has managed to recover weapons from 3000 pastoral communities, while a Catholic Commission has reported that more than 50,000 weapons are in the hands of shepherds in north-western Kenya. “We must take rid of these illegal weapons to help underdeveloped regions to have access to economic growth and teach our people to participate in alternative livelihoods, an official said.

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