Breaking

Agago Mothers Abandon Children Due to Hunger

For many years, hundreds of elephants from Kidepo Valley National Game Park have been invading Kitgum and Agago districts, destroying acres of crops and houses.
08 Oct 2024 16:28

Audio 5

At least 63 mothers in Agago district have reportedly abandoned their children due to hunger after their crops were destroyed by marauding elephants.  

For many years, hundreds of elephants from Kidepo Valley National Game Park have been invading Kitgum and Agago districts, destroying acres of crops and houses.

The latest invasion was last month and has continued to date. On Monday, a herd of stray elephants invaded Te-Olwa Village, Layugi Parish in Lapono Sub-County, and destroyed an estimated 50 acres of crop gardens.  

Simon Okidi, for the past three years, the area has suffered crop destruction by elephants. 

Okidi explains that the frequent destruction of crops by elephants has caused food insecurity in the village, which he said has forced at least 63 mothers to abandon their children with their mothers-in-law, who are incapable of adequately taking care of them.  

//Cue in: “Nicakke I mwaka… 

Cue out: …I kor mege.”//  

Monica Alwoch, a resident of the village, said her daughter-in-law left her marital home, leaving behind her five children she is now struggling to feed.    Alwoch revealed that the father of the children also left home, and his whereabouts are unknown.    She appealed to the government to intervene. 

//Cue in: “Ciwoda oringo…

Cue out: …wagwok ki lutino.”//  

Rose Akullu, another elderly woman, said the elephants destroyed all her cassava and sweet potatoes, which forced her daughter-in-law to abandon her with her children.  

Akullu said the food shortage drives her to the wilderness to collect wild fruits for the children to eat, or scavenge for tiny potato tubers left behind by the elephants, to feed her grandchildren.  

Akullu, who is in her late fifties, explained that due to hunger, she doesn’t have enough energy to do odd jobs or meaningful garden work. 

 

//Cue in: “Min latin oringo…  

Cue out: …pe itiyo maber.”//  

Alice Aceng, another victim, argued that many parents are unable to pay their children to school or get proper medical treatment because their only source of income is constantly destroyed by wild animals.  

//Cue in: “Ma kombedi gamente…   

Cue out: …ci kukonywa do.”//

 

The LCI Chairperson of Te-Olwa expressed disappointment that the Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA seems reluctant to drive the animals away or compensate those who have lost their crops. 

 

//Cue in: “Kony me cul…   

Cue out: …I area kany.”//

 

Leonard Ojok, said when the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Tom Butime, visited the district early this year over complaints about the destruction of crops by elephants, they gave him a report detailing the level of crop destruction by the elephants, as well as names of the victims who deserve compensation.

 

Ojok appealed to the victims of the elephants to be patient, because the compensation is a process.  

“We are following the issue of compensation. We have not forgotten,” Ojok said.  

A 2024 report by Love One International indicates that the level of malnutrition is  25 percent in Agago district, the highest in the Acholi sub-region.  

Leaders attribute the high level of malnutrition and food insecurity to frequent cattle raids by Karamojong raiders, and destructive elephants from Kidepo Valley National Game Park.  

In 2022, more than 20 people in the district died of hunger-related complications, while 1,027 households starved due to food insecurity.

Statistics by the Uganda Wildlife Authority indicate that the population of elephants at Kidepo Valley National Game Park has risen to 1,000 today, from between 200 to 650 in the 1990s.  

Support us