Exclusive: Museveni’s Ultimatum to Ruto Administration Sparks Tensions, Puts Kenyans in Uganda on High Alert
Wednesday, June 7, President Yoweri Museveni demanded that Kenya extradite suspects accused of murdering three geologists in Uganda’s Karamoja Region in March 2022.
During his State of the Nation address in Kampala, the Head of State acknowledged that Kenyan authorities had returned stolen firearms without handing over the perpetrators.
“Turkana is where we must collaborate with Kenya, and we will do so.” They (people from Turkana) even murdered our geologists. I want the murderers of the geologists to be brought to justice.
Museveni stated, “They brought back the guns but not the killers.”
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In addition, he warned that he would not permit a subset of Kenyans to remain in the country due to allegations that they engaged in gun smuggling.
He asserted that Kenyans, particularly those from northern Kenya, were using firearms to steal livestock from Ugandan residents and cross the border with the herd into Kenya.
“They must stop bringing firearms into Uganda, and I do not want to hear of any incidents of these people raiding Uganda,” Museveni warned.
During his address, however, the President acknowledged that the Ugandan police needed to collaborate with their Kenyan counterparts to combat the vice.
Museveni explained that the orders were by an executive order against cattle rustling that he issued on May 26 prohibiting a variety of activities including the charcoal trade.
In addition, he indicated that his government would take action against Ugandan communities accused of stealing cattle and selling them in Kenya.
The geologists’ murder in 2022 sparked a diplomatic dispute between Kenya and Uganda, prompting the government of former President Uhuru Kenyatta to issue an apology one month after the incident.
After the incident affected pastoralists in Turkana, the government sought a peaceful resolution through former Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes.
“Turkana cattle would have been extinct by now if not for Uganda, which is why we are begging Uganda to allow the Turkana to return and graze their livestock in Karamoja,” he said at the time.
Exclusive: Museveni’s Ultimatum to Ruto Administration Sparks Tensions, Puts Kenyans in Uganda on High Alert
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