LIRA.
The National Resistance Movement Vice Chairman for Eastern Uganda who played a big role to end cattle rustling in Teso, Lango and Acholi sub-regions by Karimojong warriors has finally paid off, after President Yoweri Museveni scraped cash cattle compensation to war claimants and replaced it with distribution of cattle to each household.
President Museveni told leaders of Teso sub-region during a meeting on Friday in Soroti that, cash compensation of livestock had become a breeding ground for corruption and the right beneficiaries were not getting payment for the lost livestock, but a few individuals charged with handling the process.
Mr Mukula who is seeing for re-election for the National Vice Chairman for Eastern Region, welcomed the initiative saying this has all along been his dream to ensure that each family is compensated with cattle because almost all the households in Teso, Lango and Acholi suffered from the same brutality not only in the hands of the Karimojong cattle rustlers, but even from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.
“This initiative is more than a political gesture; it is a recognition of the deep cultural and economic significance of cattle to the people of these sub-regions where cattle are not merely livestock, but they are a store of wealth, a source of nourishment, a means of paying bride price, and a pillar of community identity. Restoring cattle is, therefore, restoring hope,” Mr Mukula told karumapost on Saturday.
“The President’s action sends a powerful message: that the state not only remembers the sacrifices and losses of its citizens, but is also willing to take concrete steps to repair the damage. It affirms that peace-building is not complete without economic and cultural rehabilitation,” he added.
Mr Mukula observed that it was in this spirit that during the 6th Parliament, he tabled a landmark motion calling for the disarmament of the Karacuna (the armed youth of Karamoja) whose activities had destabilized entire sub-regions.
“This motion was not merely about removing illegal firearms; it was a comprehensive strategy to restore peace, rebuild trust, and rehabilitate the socio-economic backbone of Acholi, Lango, and Teso: cattle,” Mr Mukula recalled.
“One of the most important pillars of the motion was the principle of just compensation. The cattle raids had left countless families impoverished, stripped of their wealth, and unable to sustain traditional livelihoods,” he added.
He said this vision has been finally found its champion in President Museveni who in his characteristic foresight and an unyielding commitment to national stability, has set in motion a programme to award every single affected family with a few cows, not as charity, but as justice restored.
“As these cows return to homesteads, they carry with them more than milk and calves; they carry the promise of a better tomorrow, the warmth of reconciliation, and the resilience of a people determined to rise again,” Mr Mukula observed.
On Sunday August 17,2025, President Yoweri Museveni is expected in Lira City to address the Lango Sub-region leaders consisting of Cultural, Religious, Ministers, Area Members of Parliament, District Chairpersons, and opinion leaders, security agencies as far as the matter of cattle compensation is concerned. The meeting shall be convened at Lango College grounds.
