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Just barely one month after Kenyan pastoralists complained over massive theft of camels from Kenya where thieves rush and sell them to Somali nationals that have settled in Amudat district, a section of pastoralists in Amudat district, Karamoja sub region have added their voices to the Kenya pastoralists asking Uganda government to take note of the overwhelming growing number of Somalis who are mainly from Garisa in Kenya and Somalia to Amudat district.
The somalis have embarked on serious trade on camels in Amudat, something that pastoralists are crying that the business had changed into massive stealing of camels from Kenya. Amudat district is located in the north eastern Uganda in Karamoja region The district is occupied by the Kalenjin ethnicity and they live both in West Pokot in Kenya and Amudat in Uganda.
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Speaking to this publication Paul Chepokos one of the pastoralists from Kiwawa says many camels are being stolen and sold to the somalis.
“Now the cattle raiding is reducing, but camel thefts is again going up and governmnet needs to check on these Somalis dealing in this business-“he said.
According to Chepokos, a lifestyle of a camel is totally different from livestock adding that a camel can move out from their home three months eating shrubs and get back at their time but when the thieves get it them in the wildness, they just drive them crossing to Uganda and sold quickly to Somalis who also take them to Kampala.
Chepokos cited an incident where one of the camel stolen from Kenya was sold to a Somali trader who transported it to Kampala quickly but later after hearing that he was being hunted for buying a stolen camel, the trader decided to return back the camel but it has never reached to the owner.
This publication learnt that a price of camel is higher than that of a bull, a big camel goes for about Shs3million while a big local bull goes for Shs1.3m.
Interestingly, they are no gazzetted places for selling and buying of these camels, Somali traders just move around the community and buy and load them without taking precaution either its stolen or not.
Mark Kiyonga another pastoralists says they were so suspicious of the behaviors exhibited by these Somali traders when the locals try to ask them about the trading licences.
“Some of them claim, they are only answerable to state house not the locals something we want to know because we are afraid-“he said.
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