By Namutebi Sumayiya
Patriot students in the Napak district have been urged to promote the peace-building process and avoid being recruited into cattle rustling.
This was raised on Friday during the pass-out ceremony of 716 students who underwent a two-week training. The students were drawn from all the secondary and Tertiary institutions such as Kangole Girls SS, St Andrew SS, Napak Seed School, St Daniel Comboni SS, and Moroto Technical Institute.
The students were urged to champion the cause of peacebuilding and fight insecurity which has frustrated several development programs in the sub-region.
Lt Col Morris Twongyeirwe, the Training and Operations Officer at UPDF 403 Brigade, while speaking to patriots observed that the warriors have resorted to recruiting students whom they know are desperately looking for school pocket money.
Twongyeirwe said that most students are lured into this criminal act urging them to desist to avoid being a culprit of cattle raids.
Twongyeirwe observed that several students had fallen in the ambushes of security and others were killed while in the raid.
The recent killing occurred in October last year where a senior three student of Arengesiep Secondary School in Nabilatuk district was shot dead by the Security forces during an Operation against cattle rustling in Napak district. The deceased was moving with other 13 warriors armed with four firearms.
He said that it is very sad to see learners involved in such awkward means of survival instead of concentrating on their studies and getting decent employment to transform their community.
Twongyeirwe warned the students against drunk abuse noting that this has influenced the youths to join bad peer groups. He also rallied the youths in the region to embrace security recruitment as a means of reducing unemployment.
Twongyeirwe noted that they were frustrated by the low turn-up of the Karamojong youth who were joining the forces in the recent recruitment.
John Bosco Ngoya, the Member of Parliament for Bokora West County in Napak district said that the students are the best to transform the community because they still have more opportunities ahead.
He noted that security is the backbone of the development in Karamoja and this should be taken as a priority for transformation.
Ngoya urged the students to love themselves and the country as a starting point for the peace-building agenda.
Florence Nambozo, the State Minister for Karamoja Affairs urged students to work hard if they are to achieve their dreams and transform society.
Nambozo urged the government to address the challenge of water scarcity that she said has partly contributed to the insecurity. She observed that the pastoralists have been moving from place to place searching for water and this results in resource sharing conflicts.
Nambozo urged the students to spread the gospel of peaceful coexistence and avoid the cluster discrimination that has created division among the Karamojong communities.
Nambozo also urged parents to take all the children to school to disconnect them from being recruited into cattle rustling by the warriors.
She noted that Karamoja needs a collective effort to tackle the challenges affecting the community such as poverty, hunger, insecurity, and illiteracy.
In the related development, At least 600 students from secondary schools in the Moroto and Napak districts have been trained in Emergency Response.
This is aimed at enriching the students with the basics of surviving in all situations in life ranging from disastrous and human aspects to wild and domestic situations.
A one-day training that was held in Moroto Core Primary Teacher’s College attracted 06 secondary schools such as Moroto High, Nadunget SS, Moroto Patents SS, Apostles of Jesus SS, Rupa Seed SS, in Moroto district, and Kangole Girls from Napak. The training involved, tent erecting, rope usage, mountain climbing, and personal defensive techniques.
Patrick Iriama, the Country Chief Scout Coordinator explained that this mode of training is very essential to all the students for safety when the situation is tough.
Iriama appealed to the government of Uganda through the Ministry of Education to allocate a budget to facilitate the program.
He appealed to the school heads to take the scout clubs seriously so that students could have a platform to exercise their skills and bring patrons close to learners for guidance.
Moses Lokol, a student at Moroto High School embraced the training asserting that this would help to protect him against any possible attacks.
Lokol said that he will use skills such as tent erecting to help the community in case there is a need for support.
He noted that the skills gained on the defensive will safeguard him in case of any danger at school.
Gloria Nakong a student at Kangole Girls Secondary School said that she has learned skills to defend herself tactically.
Nakong urged the government to consider spreading the skilling program to the entire school to benefit all the learners. She observed that this would help to address the cases of damage at school during fire outbreaks.
Additional Source: URN