David Mujaasi, the chairperson of cattle keepers in Kakuuto County indicates that the Ministry of Security deployed civilian informants at the Uganda-Tanzania border post at Mutukula to provide intelligence on non inspected livestock smuggled into Uganda.
Security informants in Mutukula town council, Kyotera District are
on the spot for harassing Livestock dealers.
David Mujaasi, the chairperson of cattle keepers in Kakuuto County
indicates that the Ministry of Security deployed civilian informants at the
Uganda-Tanzania border post at Mutukula to provide intelligence on non inspected
livestock smuggled into Uganda.
However, in their report to the State Minister of East African
Community Affairs, Julius Maganda during his inspection tour to Mutukula
business communities; the traders complained that the informants have instead
become a threat to cattle trade in the area.
Mujaasi indicated that despite the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal
Husbandry lifting quarantine on the movement of livestock after containing Foot
and Mouth Disease in the area, the informants are still illegally arresting and
harassing cattle traders including those that trade from within Uganda.
He accuses the informants of extorting money from all cattle
traders and arresting them when they decline to pay bribes.
//Cue in “abantu baffe bano……
Cue out; ……gy’etusobola
okuyambibwamu.”//
Major David Matovu, the Kyotera Resident District Commissioner who
accompanied the team on the inspection also acknowledges that plight of
the traders. He says that the informants were deployed by higher authorities
at the ministry.
However, in his response, Minister Maganda asked the complainants
to patiently wait for a report by a select committee set up by the President to
look into matters of cross-border cattle trade with a view of ensuring
livestock diseases are controlled from across the borders.
