Museveni threatens to kick out 'Kenyan Turkanas' after bandits kill five Ugandans

Museveni, in an Executive Order dated May 19, threatened to expel all Kenyan Turkanas from the country if the directives issued are not adhered to in six months. He claimed the Ugandans were killed by Turkana pastoralists who have settled in the area around Kobebe dam.

The Ugandans, three geologists one of whom was an intern from Makerere University and two officers attached to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), were found dead in the Karamoja region on May 22 where they are said to have gone for a mineral mapping exercise.

Among the matters Museveni wants to be addressed are the disarmament of members of the Turkana community entering Uganda, the return of the cattle they have allegedly stolen, and the surrendering of the bandits responsible for the death of the Ugandans.

"I now direct that this Turkana nonsense must stop... I give the Turkana population, 6 months to implement my directives. If, however, the issue of the guns illegally entering Uganda, the hand-over of the criminals who killed our Geologists, or the use of traditional justice and return of the stolen cattle, are not resolved, I will have no alternative but to expel all the Kenyan Turkanas and their cattle and they will never be allowed to re-enter Uganda with their cattle," reads part of the order.

A furious Museveni added that the pastoralists have ignored his orders against carrying firearms and have instead attacked neighbouring communities and stolen their livestock.

"Long ago, I ordered these Turkanas to never bring guns into Uganda. They should just come and graze their cattle minus being armed. They, however, do not listen to this," he said.

"Instead, they raid our disarmed Karimonjong, kill people, rape, etc. They are said to have raided 2,245 cattle from the Jie."

President Museveni, therefore, demanded that the suspects be handed over to Ugandan authorities to face murder charges and that the suspects should compensate the families of the deceased through Kukaraba - a ritual involving 'blood settlement'.

"The price of the Kukaraba cannot be the traditional one, of a few cows. It must be adjusted to the full value of what the deceased would have contributed in his/her life, which life was cut short by those criminals," he said.

He further demanded that the suspects should return the livestock they allegedly stole.

Museveni went on to state that no pastoralist from the Turkana community should enter Uganda with a firearm and any individual found breaching the order must be apprehended and charged with terrorism.