Ugandan Rustlers Strike Again
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The East African Standard (Nairobi)
February 13, 2005
Posted to the web February 14, 2005
Osinde Obare
Nairobi
A pokot herds boy is fighting for his life in hospital after he was shot by suspected cattle rustlers from Uganda.
Lokorko Loriwale, 17, was shot on the thighs as he looked after cattle alongside his peers at Katikomor grazing field on the Kenya-Uganda border.
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He was admitted at the Kapenguria District Hospital and sources there described the boy's condition as "critical but stable."
The rustlers, believed to be soldiers from the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF), were thwarted by a contingent of General Service Unit officers who responded swiftly.
They struck on Thursday noon and shot in the air several times to scare the herds boys, injuring Loriwale, and started driving away the animals.
But GSU personnel from Chepchoina Camp in Kwanza caught up with them before they crossed the border. A fierce gun battle ensued and the invaders were subdued after half an hour of fire exchange. Three hundred herds of cattle were rescued by the security forces and handed back to the owners.
The attack comes barely a month after a similar raid in the area. About 1,200 herds of cattle were stolen.
During the incident seven people were killed when Pokot herders pursued the animals into Uganda and clashed with the aggressors.
The Kapchorwa Resident Commissioner Joseph Arwata apologised for the involvement of the soldiers in the attack.
Kanyarkwat civic leader Abel Chukadum condemned the Thursday incident and urged the government to send a diplomatic protest to Uganda.
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The affected herders were last month evicted from the controversial Kanyarkwat farm in Trans Nzoia after they were accused of fanning violence in the area. The skirmishes led to the killing of more than 20 people.
Police in Kapenguria said that security forces had been deployed at the border to prevent further attacks.
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