Micheal Longole, the Karamoja Region Police Spokesperson, says that their intelligence shows that some of the people buy more than 5 chapatis and take them to rustlers hiding in bushes after abandoning their homes.
A Chapati Vendor in the town
Buying more than 5 chapatis in Moroto district could land someone in
trouble.
Both the police and sister agencies have decided to arrest and interrogate
anyone found buying more than five chapatis as they intensify their hunt for
cattle rustlers in the ongoing disarmament exercise.
Micheal Longole, the Karamoja Region Police
Spokesperson, says that their intelligence shows that some of the people buy more than 5 chapatis and take them to rustlers hiding in bushes after abandoning
their homes.
"We are now arresting any person who buys
more than five chapatis and we interrogate him on why he or she is buying all those chapatis and where they are taking them because
we have received information that those buying many chapatis take them to the warriors in the bushes," he said.
According to Longole, the cattle rustlers are fully connected and just make phone calls to
their collaborators to supply them food.
He says that cutting
off the food supply will force the warriors to return to the community and
surrender the illegal firearms.
Mark Koryang, one of the peace activists, says that more
sensitisation is needed to allow the exercise to
on peacefully.
"Although the forces have come up with
that initiative it will not work well because these warriors can survive
without even eating chapati," he said.
Grace Nakiru, another resident said arresting anyone buying
more than 5 chapatis will not help to
lure the warriors to hand over guns and stop raids.
"What we are saying
is that the forces need to work closely with the local community but when they
work in Isolation it will be hard to achieve Disarmament," he said.
Edrine Mawanda, the UPDF 3rd division Spokesperson told URN
that they have so far recovered 58 guns in the entire region since the second disarmament exercise
started on July 17th, 2021.