By Timothy Nsubuga

20^th Dec 2010

Dr. Kizza Besigye, the IPC’s presidential flag bearer, has finally set out a three-point policy plan to resolve the insecurity caused by Karamojong warriors as well as the security threats faced the people of Karamoja themselves.

Addressing a mammoth crowd at Kaproron on the final day of his campaign in the Sebei region, Dr. Kizza Besigye, who is also the President of Uganda’s biggest opposition party the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), accused his main political rival President Yoweri Museveni of being obsessed with the use of force to resolve every problem that he encounters.

“…Just thinking that you will apply force and cause everything (problem) to end is wrong.  I think that the NRM government has handled the situation wrongly for all its 25 years”, Besigye said.

President Museveni’s government, Besigye added, has failed to address or in some cases completely ignored the serious security threat caused by the Karimojong warriors when they carry out raids on neighbouring communities in Sebei, Teso, and Acholi among many others.

Recently, the government embarked on a disarmament exercise in the Karamoja region, but even that, Besigye says, “…has gone horribly wrong with several innocent Karimojong killed by troops commanded by Museveni’s son Lt. Col. Muhoozi Keinerugaba”.

Besigye’s three-point Karamoja blue print

Dr. Besigye said three vital steps have to be implemented before the Karamoja question can be effectively addressed.  The first step, he said, should be to use the armed forces to create a buffer zone between Karamoja region and all communities that feel threatened by the warriors.

The second vital thing, Besigye added, should be the creation of a buffer zone between Karamoja and all other regions that pose a threat to the security of Karamoja itself.

Dr. Besigye explained that while the first step would address the security concerns of those threatened by Karamoja, the second step would address the concerns of Karamoja in regard to threats posed by communities like the Pokot.

The third step, he said should be a resolution of the water crisis that often plagues Karamoja region, forcing the warriors to wander out in search of water for their animals.

“…It is only after you have implemented those three steps that you can meaningfully carry out disarmament.  If you do that, you will have peace with Karamoja because the Karimojong aren’t a threat to just their neighbours, but even to themselves”, Besigye counseled.

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