President Museveni in Karamoja: How rustlers managed to roast stolen cattle next to presidential lodge

The skin of one of the 158 that cattle rustlers audaciously raided near State Lodge on the weekend President Museveni was in Karamoja has been found.

The exhibit has been found by relatives of the director public prosecution Ms Jane Francis Abodo, just a hundred metres from the Presidential State Lodge Morulinga in Napak district, where the criminals roasted it and ate the ‘mchomo‘ before continuing on their journey with the stolen livestock.

The animals were robbed from the kraal of Ms Abodo’s family and one of the stolen cows roasted outside the state lodge. Abodo’s family members are bitter and even suspect the presidential guards participated in eating the stolen meat.

The cattle rusttlers suspected to be Matheniko of Moroto on Sunday attacked the kraal and raided 158 cattle.

According to eyewitnesses, the warriors who were estimated to be 60 and armed drove the animals passing by the Presidential Lodge without any fear of being intercepted by the soldiers protecting the state lodge.

Mark Meri, a resident of Lominit village in Lotome sub county said he hid himself after seeing the armed warriors driving livestock in a terrible speed passed State Lodge Morulinga.

“When I saw unusual way animals were running I noticed there was something going on, so I entered inside the culvert and within few minutes I saw armed warriors driving passing on top of a Culvert I was hiding in,” he said.

Ms Calementina Acuka an elderly woman said the current raids would resurrect the highest level of malnutrition in Karamoja and poverty.

“If government continues lamenting on the Security situation in Karamoja it will be the end of Karimojong history,” she said.

Hon Remigio Achia, the member of Parliament for Pian County who’s also the husband to the DPP said out of 158 raided animals they only managed to recover 29 cows and they were still tracking the missing ones.

He said this morning they discovered a skin of one of his raided animals abandoned in a place where they roasted it from just near presidential state Lodge.

“I think even the soldiers guarding the presidential state lodge also ate my cow because, how can the animal be roasted just 100meters from the state Lodge and no one can intervene to see why the fire is being set?”he asked.

Edrin Mawanda, the UPDF 3r Division Spokesperson could not be reached for the comment since his known mobile phone was off.