Kotido to enforce security checkpoints to curb Karimojong mass migration

Kotido, Uganda | URN | Rising migration of Karimojong residents to neighbouring districts in search of food and casual labour has prompted authorities in Kotido District to introduce strict security measures, including checkpoints along major exit routes. The measures follow the recent repatriation of at least 275 migrants from Agago District, where they had relocated late last year after leaving their homes due to hunger.

According to the Kotido Assistant Resident District Commissioner, Peter Abrahams Lokwii, authorities will establish security checkpoints to intercept groups leaving the district for neighbouring areas. Lokwii said security personnel will arrest those found moving in large groups and return them to their home areas as part of efforts to curb what he described as an increasing pattern of migration.

He added that the district will also collaborate with leaders in neighbouring districts such as Agago to ensure that Karimojong migrants are identified and returned to their homes. For years, many residents from Kotido District, especially from Panyangara Sub-county, have moved to other districts during periods of food scarcity. Many work as casual labourers in the Acholi, Lango, and Teso sub-regions in exchange for food.However, local authorities say the migration has exposed many of them, particularly women and children, to exploitation and abuse in the areas where they seek work. Some migrants are reportedly underpaid, forced to work under harsh conditions, or assaulted while away from home.

Lokwii said the government plans to address the root causes of the migration by ensuring that vulnerable households benefit from development programmes such as the Parish Development Model. He explained that communities will be mobilised to form farmer groups so they can benefit from government support, adopt climate-smart agriculture, and improve household food production.

Authorities also plan to intensify sensitisation campaigns on food management and family budgeting. Meanwhile, the Kotido District Speaker, Emmanuel Lodio Lopwot, said the district council will hold its next council meeting in Panyangara Sub-county, which has been identified as the epicentre of the migration.

However, some residents have questioned the proposed security measures. Lucia Longok, a resident of Panyangara, said migration has long been a survival strategy for many families facing food shortages. Longok warned that restricting movement without first addressing hunger could worsen the situation for vulnerable households.