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.
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.