According to security reports, the revenge attacks that happened between Sunday and Wednesday last week left at least three refugees from the clans of Boul and Fangak under the Nuer tribe dead.
One of the recovered bodies belonges to David Opoka, who was reported missing on Monday evening after being shot in the head by armed attackers while tending to his land in Lelabur village within the same sub-county. Opoka was accompanied by the slain LC1 chairperson during the attack.
According to James Okema, a local businessman, the four victims had left their homes on Sunday afternoon to tend to their garden in Lelabur Village when they were ambushed by the armed assailants.
John Bosco Kyaligonza, the Refugee Desk Officer for Lamwo District revealed that they are currently transporting the refugees to other refugee settlements in Arua and Adjumani where there are still available spaces.
Speaking at the launch, Dr. Munir Safieldin, the UNICEF Representative to Uganda said the project will benefit selected 20,000 children in refugee settlements in four districts in Northern Uganda.
The Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Refugees, Hillary Onek Obaloker however says the country isn’t receiving the resources that match the progressive model yet its hosting the highest numbers of refugees.
The objective of the resource center is to provide space for a mindset change for refugees to adopt harmonious and peaceful lifestyles even when they return to their home countries. Rwot Odongtoo observed that most refugees, particularly their leaders, engage in unlawful activities, a culture they continue to practice even after seeking asylum.
The goal is to address and mitigate human rights abuses, conflicts, and challenges with essential social services along the border, which greatly affect refugees and host communities.
Tonny Okeny, an eye witness, says the injury of the accident victim prompted a section of his relatives from Pobura clan to mobilize and revenge against the members of Pobira clan where they torched twelve huts and destroyed household property worth millions of shillings.
While addressing the Lamwo district authorities and project contractors at the district headquarters, the World Bank Mission Development Specialist Mission Stephen Ajalu, said that they are impressed by the progress of the works.
The outbreak of the disease was reported in the Refugee Reception Centre in Lokung Sub County and the Palabek Refugee settlement which is home to over 65,000 refugees from South Sudan. According to the acting District Health Officer Dr Denis Ocula, at least 50 cases turned positive for measles, 30 of which have already been discharged and 11 are still hospitalized.
The Padibe town council speaker Godwill Onen who also doubles as the chairperson of Lawmo Sub County Leaders Forum says the councilors from the 9 affected Sub Counties and 2 town councils were being told to receive only 158,000 shillings instead of 420,000.
The District Education Officer Barnabas Langoya says the request to the teachers follows concerns raised by parents, local leaders, and other stakeholders over the two weeks of industrial action that could ruin the pupils’ education and even disrupt the academic calendar.
Lamwo Resident District Commissioner Osborn Ochieng says that the four were arrested at different intervals following a fierce fire exchange between the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) on Saturday.
The victims who included the elderly, children, and women of the Pobura clan from Lobalokodi village had sought refuge at Kwon Cok Primary School in 2021 following a land row with their neighbors of the Pubira clan.
The court martial presided over by Col. Gabriel Wamala heard that on the 14th February 2022 the accused UPDF soldier allegedly shot a civilian identified as Emmanuel Kica a resident of Arogo Village, Kal parish in Madi Opei Town Council.
The UPDF 5TH Division Spokesperson Captain Amos Nsambu, says that the court-martial comprising ten people is being chaired by Col Gabriel Wamala sitting at the UPDF Bana-Bana Lamwo Battalion.
The suspects were arrested in a disputed area along the border of Uganda and South Sudan while harvesting bamboo stems from a forest in the areas presumed to be within Ber Lobo village in Lokung East Sub County, Lamwo district.
The Lotuku village LCI Chairperson says the rustlers attacked and brutally killed two herdsmen as they grazed the animals in Oryang village in Lawiyeoduny parish before grabbing some 208 head of cattle and fleeing towards South Sudan.
Geoffrey Ocana, the Lamwo District Probation Officer told URN on Tuesday that 51 of the victims have given birth while four others are expecting. The other cases were registered between 2018 and 2021.
