Peter Iriama and Mario Lochen are a team of well-known warriors who have been reportedly raiding cattle from the neighboring districts of Napak using a gun.
They on Sunday peacefully handed over the gun to Francis Obed Lochoro, the local council III chairman of Lorengecora Sub-County in Napak District.
The duo is from a Village called Kalochelel in Kokipurar Parish, Lorengecora sub-county. Iriama and Lochen said they decided to hand over the gun to the government because it has made them fail to even sleep at night, fearing that they could be rounded up by security forces at any time.
“We were afraid because of the fact that we were keeping the gun illegally and we could be reported since people knew that we had a gun,” Iriama said shortly after handing in the gun.
The former rustlers acknowledged that the reason many people are still dying in Karamoja is prevalence of illegal guns in the hands of raiders and urged other community members with guns to hand them over peacefully.
Chairman Lochoro appreciated the two for being very positive to the ongoing disarmament process and pledged to help them where necessary, especially in helping connect to the government programs so that they may not think of returning back to cattle rustling.
He also urged the community to follow the same example of the two warriors, especially those with guns in order to get back the lost peace in Napak and Karamoja Region.
Lochoro assured the people that they will work with the government to ensure that illegal guns are removed from communities using every means possible.
The government declared an amnesty for warriors who surrender their guns peacefully while at the same time carrying out forceful disarmament to rid Karamoja of illegal guns and stop cattle rustling.
Lochoro thanked Iriama and Lochen for coming out to denounce cattle rustling and encouraged them to tell other rustlers to do the same.
He also appealed to the community to utilize the current ongoing showers of rain to plant crops like beans, green vegetables and other quick maturing varieties to avert famine in Karamoja.
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