MATHENIKO MP WILL SOON HAVE NO ACCESS TO HIS COUNTRY HOME

Someone ought to pass information to Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) and any other authority charged with keeping an eye on the health of our roads in Moroto. The people of Loputuk parish are slowly but surely molesting the newly designated East African Market access road. The ever shoddily maintained Moroto-Kitale road is being worsened by hungry quarry boys from Loputuk. Remember this road also takes Matheniko MP John Baptist Lokii to his country home based in Loputuk.

The last time I saw the legislator raise a voice to these famished voters was late last year. He chased them away from the mining site why? These guys are digging stones from the road space and keep extending to the heart of the highway. MP Lokii then was very bitter at this ravenous group, but today the situation is getting terrible.

Even if Lokii now has a better house in Kampala and might have little time to come sort out this issue that concerns his Manyatta in Matheniko, some leaders should wake up from sleep and/to stop these men at work. I don’t know how far UNRA Moroto office is responsible of this, but I suspect the works department at the district or Municipality might have full authority. Ok, I also feel the LC V and or the mayor of the district and Municipality respectively can take action to this effect. The place is located a few meters away from the airtel mask as you head to Loputuk.

By yesterday when my team crossed this spot heading to Tapac Sub County, the boys had created a hole that runs horizontal from the quarrying point to the middle of the way. They do it by excavating stones from the space created by running rain water on the road sides. The last thing that might happen is a driver will sink a car down because he’ll not tell that the road has a hole dug down. Someone really needs to wake up the sleeping authorities to come rescue this road.

Moroto-Kitale road is one highway that the East African community member states selected for improvement so to be used in boosting trade and communication in the region. The information I gathered indicates that World Bank will provide funding to tarmac the road from Moroto to Kitale in Kenya and it as well is meant to connect the region to Southern Sudan.

Meantime, I think it should as before be maintained by people who are locally in charge. If not the district, then it should be UNRA. Why are these guys not making things happen now? I hope they are not beginning to bank so early on the pledge from World Bank and the fact that it will be East African business interest access road. In any case the maintenance of this road even in future might still be decentralised, so that when a bridge falls down, UNRA or works department should sort it out quick and not wait for the issue to be debated in the East African Parliament.

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Then over the weekend there was this death reported in the municipality. To me this and more are just like history that is trying to repeat itself. This particular murder of a young woman comes a few weeks when another small trader was finished at the cross fire between suspected raiders and the military. This market trader probably wanted to go raid and to improve on his investment. Money, greed and ignorance alas flew him to the grave.

For the woman if at all it is love that caused her tragedy like rumour says, then...money, poverty and lack of integrity played that magic. I have my sympathy for young, stupid female people in this town being peddled by drunkards, planters and wizards to slaughter chambers. Who will help this poor wasted generation? President Museveni has done his part by appointing Fr Simon Lokodo as minister for Ethics and Integrity. I call upon this Fr Lokodo to start sweeping his own house before cleaning the whole country.

Dear Fr. Lokodo, by virtue of your origin of a church man you have that appointment from his Excellency. Politics well we understand happens just to be your destiny, but your fortune has made president Museveni to trust you with office of Minister for Integrity. What plans do you have for redundant, poor Karimojong girls trading on sex for a livelihood?

After bringing several others including young boys back from the street life of Mbale and Kampala, we need better things for our women. The culture is strong but poverty and the spread of neo-colonialism are a big force fighting the Karimojong culture. Like MP ASPRO who plans to fund a women tailoring group in Moroto, it would also be sweet for other back benchers to come up with a similar community development plan that will ensure a positive spin and empower women so they are not victims of sexual terrorism.

CHILDREN UPCOUNTRY NEED BETTER FOUNDATION EDUCATION

Lorunget ECD Center in Lopei Sub County of Napak district

With reference to the opinion article “toddlers also deserve free education”, New Vision Wednesday 20th June, I wish to supplement on why the plan by the education ministry to promulgate the Early Childhood Development (ECD) policy in Uganda is a crucial idea especially for districts in the periphery. My opinion is based on the current education and child welfare situation in the Karamoja sub region.

A recent media report also confirms that the distribution of kindergartens in Uganda is dependent on the levels of income of the people. For instance as reported; central region has the largest share of the children’s learning centres, taking up to 39%. Eastern region follows with 22%, western Uganda takes 15% and 11% goes for the northern part of the country. The south western region comes fifth with a 10% share, but as usual north eastern region or Karamoja trails with a crushing 3% share.

I totally agree with this media revelation. It insinuates that the existing nursery school systems in Uganda are largely geared towards profit making, rather than fulfilling the universal education dream. Thus, 100% of all registered nurseries are mainly owned by business individuals in the ‘greener regions’. The system favours mostly children of rich people in better off places. In my view, the only way kids in disadvantaged locations like Karamoja can catch up with their friends who study in town is by having government come in to fully support the program like other education systems in the country. Here is how and why:

Having a nationwide capacity building for the human resources involved in upbringing of children in these elementary learning centres. One of the reasons ECD centres are not doing well in the village settings is the poor knowledge of the children’s care givers.

For instance Brac Uganda with funding from UNICEF set up 10 ECD centres for the Tepeth community atop mount Moroto last year, but all the care givers in these centres do not know how to read and write and or even count from one to ten in English -the official language. How then can this type of teachers prepare children to join primary one? The ministry could actually create more jobs recruiting and training p.7 graduates to take up such positions.

The facilitation of teachers of these toddlers also needs to be specified. Currently, most nursery school teachers in Karamoja are either baited with very little money, food staff from supporting NGOs or not paid at all.

The most highly paid ECD centre staffs in Karamoja are those serving in the Brac established centres. Brac pays ECD teachers a salary of Sh 50,000/= per month. A centre like Lorunget ECD in kailikong village Lopei Sub County of Napak district is set up by the community and does not have anything to give teachers. Surprisingly this centre has a huge number of children with no clear care giver in charge. School drop outs who work at their will are the ones conducting lessons in this school. These ‘teachers’ go to teach just because they want to remember what they learnt while at school, otherwise they have no single motivating factor taking them to the children learning centre.

The other aspect that needs support for children’s education centres in rural areas is fitting of playing equipments. I have seen in the ECDs of Karamoja teachers start off with kids on the black boards and books. I thought the idea behind ECD is -build the brain of a child by engaging him mostly with games and in the game some aspects of counting and picture identifications is brought up bit by bit as the child grows so that when taken to P.1 he already has where to begin from and proceed.

It would be fair for the education ministry to give support to village based kindergartens by procuring game materials for them so as to put kids here at some level closer to those who study in towns.

The hope for success of toddlers’ education among people living in disadvantaged regions like Karamoja is given by the positive attitude already built towards the value of going to school. This is manifested in the crowded classrooms in most village learning centres in Karamoja. It shows that parents are ready and willing to take children to school and kids too are ready to learn.

Karamoja though continues to suffer limited number of schools, poor facilitation of instructors and logistical challenges. The real gap that needs to be filled remains with the education Ministry. Government needs to strengthen facilitation of foundation education for children especially locked up in the up-country areas. Like UPE, USE and the free health service delivery that the country has adopted, toddlers’ learning is yet another area that needs immediate intervention.

BAD WEEDS HAVE INVADED THE KARIMOJONG POLITICAL PLANTATION

Electronic media consumers, the broadcast audience and all patrons of rumours in Karamoja are disillusioned by the frustrating ‘cowardly reactions’ of some of their leaders to the efforts of area legislators to beat development alert drums meant to let Nakasero face the semi arid region and also guard against intruders into the region’s natural assets.

The issue stems from the alleged illegal sale of a plot of land measuring more than 15,000 acres at Moruita Sub County in Nakapiripirit district to companies; Feronia Uganda Limited and Pro-Solutions Limited, at Shs140 million without any permission from the customary land rights owners. Another issue was the law makers’ concern over the sorry state of roads in the region and their threat to cut ties with the regime.

Daily Monitor newspaper reported that MPs from Karamoja said “that they have lined up evidence to pin the first family and some officials of the district land board who forged minutes of the district land board as having approved the dubious land transaction.”

This report obviously irritated the first lady who is also minister for Karamoja affairs and ludicrously, it as well created horror for some timid leaders at the district level. With temerity, these panicky district chiefs reportedly went on their knees to say sorry to the people from state house for what in their wisdom was possibly the ‘unserious complaints’ of colleagues. However, their midnight gamble has provoked bitter criticism from the Karimojong electorates on the internet, on radio wave, even those who subscribe to big mouthed colleagues at most places of gathering like Marua joints in the region.

On the internet, one potential voter said “When we expected them to go and debate Karamoja issues and to name and shame, or at least call for commissions of inquiries into the land grabbing in Karamoja, some opportunist leaders used the June 13th meeting with political leaders and technocrats to apologise to 'MAMA' and profess Karamoja's 'love' for her!!!”
This electorate added, “The Abim LCV, Moroto LCV, Hon. Terence, and an unlikely person in Hon. Loki are all quoted!!!”

Another member charged, “Battles against the seemingly invincible scavengers of Karamoja resources need to be sustained.”


Honestly, this is a very sensitive topic for a man my size to lay strong comments on. Nonetheless, I understand the position of two remorseful men quoted; the Local Council bosses of Abim and Moroto. They are men with very unique perceptions of world issues although inexplicably, politics happens to be their destiny.

Some of these guys were meant to be preacher men. To encourage positivity in the world by discouraging evil deeds through mere humble words of the lord and not by pointing an accusing finger at a thief since the Bible says all men are created in the image of God. The Bible also teaches us that all men in today’s world are sinners although the disobedient fruit was eaten by only one man who died long time ago. These men believe in repentance. Thus, they also believe that if a thief steals money from your pocket, give him as well your ATM card and allow him to equally withdraw from your bank account.

Others were supposed to be mere comedians and trick-stars. To serve the world in the entertainment industry by creating untrue statements that sounds true and presenting in front of a large innocent audience who end up spending all their monies to pay the price of lies. However, a political comedian is worse than a religious politician. A comedian is like a conman. He uses wrong ideas to steal money from the audience; all he will strive to do well is protect his job by singing praises for the sponsors of the function that gives him the platform to play his creepy game. We should try to weed these characters off our political plantation otherwise the voters shall continue paying the price. Am done for the moment.

FAIR THEE WELL MRS MOREL, GOD BRING BACK NABUMALI TO SHAPE

May your soul rest in everlasting peace dear Mrs Morel. Wanalobi died in a motor accident near Iganga, according to a report my friends sent me Monday. My heart is down because Mrs Wanalobi had a hand in building the road to this precious blog. She alongside George Watika taught me English Literature at Nabumali High school- some close to a decade ago. My class gave her the name of a woman in the novel.

Mrs Morel is the protagonist in D.H Lawrence’s novel “Sons and Lovers”, an account of a painful life of a simple woman married to a cruel miner and drunkard. Their house conflict leads to disjointment and Mrs Morel transfers her passion for husband to her two sons; William and Paul. The love for sons and love for mother makes all intimate projects of both William and Paul fail...until the death of William, death of Mrs Morel herself and that lonely world of Paul.

Madam Wanalobi’s test for Mrs Morel’s characters and love for the book itself compelled my class to let her have the woman’s name. Wanalobi was also a sports loving woman and served as house mistress for Hannington girls. I also belonged to Hannington house although I put on Banks T- Shirts and spent most of my better times in Annex Baghdad with the bad boys.

All the good life was there for us in school until the strike of 2004 that brought ruin to the institution. To recall the strike, some unserious policemen grabbed me, Jude, Obi and other innocent fellows at dawn while catching up with sleep at a kafunda in Nabumali trading centre (koona) after a painful night of fire and police tear gas at school. Students flew like guineafowls into the nearby bushes when police stepped in to avert the situation. But boy, the girls who started this strike faced the ramification beginning that very night. Police and other opportunists were reported to have raped young things in the bushes as a prerequisite for not being detained as a suspect.

Poor me with sleep on my face was also grabbed because I took refuge in a wrong place. It was Jude’s Kafunda. The boy had a suspension from school after he was found openly enjoying some new student (some one’s daughter) down the swimming pool area -behind the geography room. Jude was to go home and call his parents, but he preferred renting a room at koona so he can pay somebody later to play as a parent at the time for reporting back. Unfortunately, the strike came when girls went batty over the absence of mere piped water yet we also had bore holes and nearby wells.

Driven we were in a police vehicle to the head teacher’s home. Fortunately Mafabi did not find any fault in the boy from Abim; my other colleagues were also acquitted except Jude because of his love making scandal. H/M told police to proceed with Jude to Central Police Station (CPS) in Mbale town so he can make a statement like a strike suspect. Jude did what police wanted, but trust me -he was innocent. Then, when free things become costly is when Obi asks the police carryng Jude for a lift to town so he could go to the park and go home. Boy, police drove Obi and Jude whole-sale paka CPS and forced all to make statements of suspected students involved in the strike. The problem was that Obi did not have any thing for kitu kidogo, he had to suffer locally.

Today what I know about Nabumali is that the 2004 strike that brought down the giant administration structure demoralised teachers, parents and bright students from subscribing to any development in the school. Nevertheless, the school still boasts for its products -some very significant citizens of this country and beyond. Some of the alumnae include; the late John Garang, former vice president of Sudan and leader of Southern Sudan, Dr Beatrice Wabudeya, Minister for Kampala Capital City Authority, Justice James Ogoola, Acting Justice of the supreme court of Uganda, James Waphakabulo (RIP) former Foreign Affairs Minister of Uganda, Lt Col. David Oyite Ojok former army chief of staff in Uganda, Aggrey Awori , former Minister for ICT and member of parliament in Uganda among several others.

This Saturday as the school’s alumnae gather to celebrate 100 years of Nabumali existence, I hope they’ll raise enough funds to support the reconstruction, I hope they’ll also observe a moment of silence in respect to fallen colleagues like Mrs Morel who was both a former student and teacher. I wish well all those who will endeavour to attend this historic event and I will watch from Karamoja because our roads here are terrible!

WHY THE LORUPE RACE IS LIKE A FLOP

What I wanted to do a fortnight ago was have my say on the Tegla Lorupe Foundation race that takes place annually for/in Karamoja –Turkana. I kept on hesitating to critic the function because of ordinary fear. But today, a colleague on Karamoja Development Forum (KDF), a facebook networking group provoked me to unleash the dragon.

The race is I perceive, geared towards bringing together warriors from both the Turukana and Karamoja clusters for peace. Tegla herself is reknown for her athletic record. It is very difficult to exactly tell the way in which peace can be enhanced by letting the guys come and run a short distance within a small radius in town. I thought a cross boarder race could give a fairer accountability of this peace building claim and also demonstrate unity and the feat of peace. But, I suspect the people who matter in this arrangement believe in the long speeches that get translated to the local language listening crowd who by the time of the talking are really tired and hungry and are obviously very inattentive.

During the recent race in Moroto, am sorry to mention that the organisers were on sweat hunting for willing bodies to take part in the activity. Well, there were some chosen few known athletes and some cheap –to-maintain warrior squads from both Kenya and Uganda. They were partially facilitated mainly by way of packing them behind pickup trucks and some in the spare tyre space in the Land Cruisers, the Tegla T-shirts and then, their food (they like posho and beans...I suspect they were given) which is cheap. And what next, the question of egg-like people takes a lot of resources normally –unfortunately!

My KDF colleague thus commented, “...so called Peace race that has yielded unreasonable results so far in four races ...” I go by what he thinks although I don’t know his argument. But, basing on situations on the ground, I say peace is still indeed wanting in Karamoja and that Turukana side of Kenya. The numerous peace meetings I attended show a very bad relationship between Turukana and Tepeth people. There is a village called Naut in Katikekile parish Tapac Sub County in Moroto that can attest to this. As we communicate now, people have flown off from Naut because of constant attacks or threats of attack, animal raids and killings of humankind by suspected Kenyan warriors.

The other reason one could easily indict the Lorupe thing for merely coming to Moroto or going to Kapenguria for a bash, is the way more affluent lot are big beneficiaries of the dollars thrown in by sponsorors of the occasion. For instance during the recent race held in Moroto, I wondered how little the would have been real recipients were made to pocket. I did not properly verify the money figure, but the first in the race did not take what is more than Ush 250000/= the third took just Ush 100000/=, and really few they were.

Another bad sign was exposed when the Master of Ceremony (MC) asked participants and...’OTHERS’ to go for lunch. NB :( lunch was served at 5:00PM, so it was lunch /supper –to even reduce the cost). The MC said this:

“...all the registered participants in the race are asked to go to Moroto Municipal Primary school for their lunch, all the officiating participants to go also to Moroto Municipal Primary School... but some where different from the other participants...and the invited guests will be received at Hotel Leslona for their lunch and refreshment...” here now just think about the expenditure at Leslona and those at the primary school. Who should have been where? And who is more important or fragile in the deal for creating peace for the conflicting warriors?

Tegla Lorupe Foundation should think beyond annual lobbying for big dollars for printing cheap T-shirts, facilitating town based short distance races and throwing party for “invited guests”. Think of a more visible, tangible and result oriented project that can create lasting peace, security and improve the livelihoods of the warriors across the border forever. Otherwise, this one off race is becoming a very bad type of Christmas or Iddi!

TORORO CEMENT, THE KARAMOJA MARBLE PROJECT AND THE LABOURERS

As law makers from Karamoja sub region wake up from their deep sleep and start barking at people they suspect to be hacking the land resource in the area, more inhuman acts should be the number two question in the queue of unfair Karamoja ventures in my view.

I write here with regards to what Tororo Cement Factory is doing to its servants – the Karimojong locals – the third class workers inputting to the cement factory from the marble mining site in Moroto district. It is a big act of exploitation of humanity- similar to those of the colonial time. In fact now I understand why historians argue that neo-colonialism is worse than the official colonial operations. One rough idea could be; well, that Africans then were in the hands of European masters, but today even a continent like Asia that never had muscles to colonise can fit in the masters’ title because of its financial and business strength.

The other emblematical reason is one in which I am a witness. It is one in which Lokwakipi Lokwang, a resident of Kosiroi marble mining site is a victim. Reader, my pen went heavy as I scribbled down this story. I forced the driver to pinch the break at a site where Lokwang was performing the donkey task. First, I apologise for failure to carry my digital Cam that could have displayed the real donkey task to viewers. Nevertheless, the facts are in the next paragraph.

The excavator exhumes huge stones and leaves them out in their colossal sizes because men should break them up using locally twisted heavy metals; it’s not bad, because the men will be paid money. This stones are so hard and men have to cut trees and fetch big logs to hit the stones up so they can easily split them; it’s not hard since cash is involved. But men prefer to work on an individual basis possibly so the big cash can go to an individual; its okay since ready money is the answer. A big truck should be loaded with the stones and when it’s full is when the worker is paid; fine –cash is coming. The whole battle to fetch stones that can fill a marble truck takes between two to three weeks.

I watched the task Lokwang was performing for a quick five minutes. It was like a scary movie on slaves and slave trade in colonial Africa, yet this is a normal way of earning a living in North-Eastern Uganda. As I coiled back to the car, the Lucky Dube song, “I am a slave ...a prisoner...” that was rocking on the heavy Nissan Patrol car provoked stupid tears from my skull, but nothing more than saying it on the blog, can I do!

The factory buys a fully loaded lorry of marble at Ushs.110,000/- (one hundred, ten thousand Ugandan money only). This is where I feel, the legislators should take over from when they get done with the land gymnastic. I know am not very good at sciences, but I tried hard to balance the equation of the work to the remuneration given and it just can’t come. Lokwnag told me that his colleagues tried to advocate for an increment of the pay to some Ushs. 250,000 but no master wants to listen to this. They threaten “if you say so then we shall bring machines to break the stones...” he said.

Now I hear this deal of milking Karamoja without feeding has been given to Tororo Cement for a couple of years. A lease am told, of 25 years was given to the cement factory to continue doing what they do in the place until time comes for its renewal again. I hope the lives of individuals who are engaged at the site will also be fresh as the factory continues gaining profits by hiking the price of cement and reducing the pay for the stone fighters.

However, they say the factory does a good tax paying job by releasing almost some 40 million shillings almost annually to the local government. How big is 40 million? May be quite big! But we need to pray for the roads and the people who could not be knowing the current global economic stand. Let me rest the case here for now.

WISDOM OF THE TEPETH ELDERS

This week I found delight in documenting some of the ingenuities that God the all mighty has given to the Tepeth people. The people of the mountain. Mountain Moroto. Their wisdom as reflected by the way they named their sub county, their parishes, their villages, their...

Tapac is the sub county and the name comes from the fact that wide seasonal rivers and bloodcurdling valleys are commonplace both on the way to and inside this land. There is also Natumkale - the parish; ‘ngikalei’ is a Karimojong noun for kids (the young of goats). Natumkale is a description of ‘fat kids’. They told me the name was given because young of goats are really healthy in this parish.

Another is Katikekile - the parish. There is scarcity of water in this place and an old story has it that one time a man drowned inside sand in the course of digging for water. So the place was named ‘Katikekile’ which means ‘it pressed a man’. Then comes, nakonyen the village; ‘ngakonyen’ in ngakarimojong is the eye. The name is got from the business of the eyes in looking all round especially when one is conscious of external threat. The Tepeth named this village baring in mind the insecurity problem in the location. Indeed, when you are in nakonyen all your senses should focus on insecurity. It is one spot in Tapac with the highest level of threats. Threats of attacks from Matheniko and threats of attacks from the Turkana people of Kenya.

There is also Kosiroi -the village. ‘Ngisiroi’ is a Karimojong name for some small size type of wild animals commonly known as digidigis. Am not sure if ‘digidigi’ is English, but at least I have ever heard even an English man call the animal the same name. Kosiroi was named so, because of the big number of digidigis (ngisirois) in the area. You will also find a village called Naut. ‘Ngauuata’ is ngakarimojong description of valley lands. The village is precisely sited on this type of land, hence its name.

I equally find beauty in the naming of Nakwanga -the parish. Ekwang is white thing in colour for ngakarimojong. The parish of Nakwanga has got majority white looking trees according to the Tepeth. I think they also considered white flowering flora that are common here. So the name was created. It is ‘white environment’ -to loosely translate for you. Another village is Adulai. Ngidulai are granaries (food stores) in the above local language. The Adulai people had lots of granaries and so the Tepeth thought the place suits being called Adulai.

Now think about Didi village. This is just a description of a narrow path. Apparently, the way to Didi village is quite slim. The village is located in the middle of rocks up far on the mountain top with white snow oftenly hanging lazily above it. In their acumen, the Tepeth had to say this place is Didi. When you come to Lopelipel, you will be told that the name was given because of the gradient of the way from this village. ‘Epilipeli’ in ngakarimojong is a depiction of ‘hilly and rocky’. If you know this village, then you must know why non-4WD vehicles cannot easily climb through despite the well graded road.

Funny names are many in Tapac. In fact all places are named because of a thing or two. Let’s talk about a village called Naracuc. The Tepeth told me that deep into the heart of this village up in the thick of snows, flies cannot survive because of the coldness involved. I visited naracuc but time blocked me from reaching the snow spot where Francis Lowal’s family live. But reader, it is a beautiful environ. It has beautiful rocks and valleys. Beautiful people. Beautiful...I’ll tell you all tomorrow.

Even just Lotorongor is a funny village name. Lotorongor is found in Natumkale parish at the border of Kenya - almost nearing the great East African rift valley. The name Lotorongor was derived from ‘angorianut’. This is ngakarimojong for dirtiness. Boy, people here are true dirty human beings. Think about a dirty person as said by a warrior...it is real dirtiness of the body and of the environment. So by the time a warrior calls a thing dirty, it is more that it. A scientist would describe it as death.

The story is too big here, but I have little space and little time on this precious weekly blog of mine. I will stop here, go home and think about another thing for my audience because I can’t write a Bible! Why talk of a Bible? There are 31 villages in Tapac, all with their interesting meanings. So over 31 descriptions of meanings will use up my ink. Let me attend to another life-line for now and for the rest of this week...