Kapoeta North County has appealed to the neighbouring communities to return the cattle recently raided from the area.
The area commissioner, Emmanuel Epone Lolimo, said on Monday that some unidentified armed cattle raiders attacked Lokoromai village and stole about 10 animals.
One man was killed and two others wounded when the herders clashed with the raiders.
It is not clear where the cattle raiders hailed from but Lolimo urged his neighbouring communities to help facilitate the return of the animals.
“We are appealing to our neighbours especially the authorities to recover these cattle. We are still trying to trace the footmark of the cattle raiders,” he said.
The commissioner called for peace and harmony among his people and with the neighbours and urged them to bring to an end the issue of cattle raiding.
Lolimo said the continued practices of cattle raids and the killing of innocent people cannot give room for development.
“My appeal is that, let us live together and let us also stop this issue of cattle raiding because it will not help us, it will not give way to development in our communities,” said Lolimo.
Budi County Commissioner, Akileo Mboya Peter Anyanga, confirmed the involvement of his youth in the raid of the cattle from their neighbouring Kapoeta North.
“It is true, I got a report from my counterpart Epone, the Commissioner of Kapoeta North over the raid that happened this week and I verified it. Some youth from my County went and attacked the kraals of Kapoeta North leading to the killing of one [person] and wounding of two others,” said Akileo.
He called on both communities to embrace peace as he condemned the renewed cattle raids among the Kapoeta North and Budi County youth.
“We need our people to be in peace and that is why I am really condemning this renewed act of cattle raid in this corridor. We need our people to stop this cattle raiding so that we can work for development,” he stressed.
Last year, Kapoeta North County accused the youth of Budi of continued violations of the Kali peace dialogue resolutions.
The agreement signed between Toposa and Buya was facilitated by Nyakiriket Consortium a local organization on August 9, 2021.
However, on August 26, 2021, a young man was shot while grazing his goats in Lokwamur Payam. According to the authorities, the attackers were from Buya area, an incident they said served as an indicator to the collapse of the peace deal signed in Kali, Budi County last year.