Commercial cattle-raiding is impoverishing Uganda’s herders
Without cows, they have no safety net when the rains fail
In bad years, when the rains fail and the sorghum wilts, Maria Lodia would usually sell an animal to survive. But in January gun-wielding thieves stole her three cows, leaving her destitute. Since 2019 cattle-raiding has returned to the dry plains of Karamoja, home to 1.2m people in north-east Uganda. Robbed of their livestock and frightened away from their fields, the Karamojong had no safety net during dry spells this year. Local officials say that more than 2,400 people have died of hunger.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Trouble down at the kraal”
Middle East & Africa December 17th 2022
From the December 17th 2022 edition
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