Famine forces 700 Karamojong locals to settle in Agago

Their language is also known as Karamojong or Karimojong and is part of the Nilotic language family.

Agago – January 21, 2022: At least 700 Karamojongs of the Jie Ethnic Group have flocked in Agago.

They are reported to have journeyed in search of food following a famine that has hit their households.

Adilang sub-county LC3Chairperson Mohammed Okwir said on Friday women and their children aged below 16 years started entering the sub-county.

He revealed they were transported by trucks coming to do business in the district.

Okwir said apart from the Karamojong searching for survival, there are a group of men (Karamojongs) who are cattle raiders.

Socvia Akot Vento is a resident of Patongo Town Council. She is currently hosting some of them, especially women. The female visitors are helping her with homework, including winnowing.

Akot said, “These people are scattered and looking for what to do in exchange for food but preferably money.”

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Marotina Nakan is a Karamojong mother of six. She said she is a resident of Kotido Municipality. “There is serious famine in Kotido as Karamoja sub-region is naturally hit by drought,” she said.

The Karamojong or Karimojong are a Nilotic ethnic group. They are agro-pastoral herders living mainly in the north-east of Uganda.

Nakan urged the government to intervene and supply them with food and other relief items.

Agago District LC5 Chairman, Leonard Ojok Opio said Agago in conjunction with security has ordered all the chairpersons Local Council One to register the visitors with their particulars.

“And those who will not have any proven documents indicating their details will be sent back to where they originate from,” he directed.