By Jennifer Acheng
Abim elders through the district elder’s council are seeking a meeting with president, Yoweri Museveni over a number of pertinent issues affecting the district.
The elders say the district has registered a number of unresolved issues ranging from compensation of the Ethur people affected by cattle rustlers, LRA as well as government militias, dating back to 1966, something they say the current leaders have failed to resolve.
On Saturday, a delegation of elders led by the executive director, Agency for development of young farmers in Uganda, ADYOFU, Simon Peter Olum, met with the speaker of parliament Anita Among at her home in Bukeddea, with hopes of having her, link them with the president.
Olum says after an outcry from the elders, he used his closeness to the speaker to mobilize a delegation of 33 members comprising elders and the top district leadership to present their issues before the speaker with hopes that she will link them up with the president
Olum says among the issues that were presented before the speaker include the issue of compensation, district boundaries, insecurity, the newly discovered Okemer gold mining site, problem animals, Delayed tarmacking of the roads among others
He says the speaker of parliament has now promised to link the elders up with the president at a later date that will be communicated to them
Jackson Ayen, the chairperson, Abim elder’s council says they hope to meet with the president to finally present some of the pressing issues, especially compensation of the Ethur people who suffered in the hands of cattle rustlers as well as the LRA
Jimbricky Norman Ochero the Labwor county MP in his recent letter to the office of the prime minister, dated 12th of August, seeking compensation noted that the number of people so far killed by government militia from 1966-1986 are 1,566, those killed by the LRA and other rebel groups between 1986 to 2003 are 1,984,
He asserts that those killed by cattle rustlers between 1966 and 2024 are 2, 973.
