In the sweltering afternoon sun of Karenga, President Yoweri Museveni looked out at a crowd of young faces, some belonging to a generation that only knows peace. Yet, for the President, their calm smiles tell a story that began in the chaos of cattle raids and gunfire.
At Jubilee 2000 Secondary School, Museveni reflected on one of his government’s toughest missions: convincing the karacunas, the young Karamojong warriors, to abandon cattle rustling and embrace peace and progress. It was not a battle fought with weapons, he said, but with ideas.
“It was not easy,” Museveni recalled. “Many of our people had been misinformed about what is important. Some thought that carrying a gun and stealing cows was bravery, but I had to show them that true strength is building a future.”
The President recounted how his strategy focused on changing mindsets, teaching the youth that prosperity, not plunder, was the true mark of courage. He said he worked closely with young leaders and women who persuaded many rustlers to return home from South Sudan, where they had joined raiding groups.
“These young women brought me children who had been in cattle rustling. When I listened to their stories, I was very sad. Many of their friends had been killed. Those who returned were survivors,” he said.
Museveni personally met several of the reformed warriors and took them to other parts of Uganda. There, they saw how peace and productivity had transformed communities. “When they came back, they told others what they had seen. Slowly, the message spread, that there is a better life beyond cattle raids,” he explained.
Religious leaders, the army, and the women’s movement also played key roles in breaking the cycle of violence. But one of the biggest challenges, the President said, was convincing the community that disarmament was possible even while neighbouring regions in Kenya and Ethiopia remained armed.
“Some people said we cannot disarm the Karamojong unless the Turkana, the Ethiopians and the Somalis are disarmed,” Museveni said. “But I told them, I am not here to disarm the whole of Africa. I will disarm my own citizens and if the others come to steal, we shall deal with them.”
The turning point, Museveni revealed, came when the government dismantled illegal markets that traded in stolen cattle. Without buyers, the business of rustling collapsed. Gradually, peace returned and with it, came development.
The President noted that the once-barren Karamoja is now witnessing growth in population and opportunity. “When I first came here in 1980, Karamoja had only about 190,000 people. Many were dying because of raids and disease,” he said. “Now, people are increasing because there is peace. The youth are working, going to school, and building a future.”
Museveni urged residents of Karenga and the wider Karamoja region to safeguard the peace and focus on wealth creation through education, agriculture, and infrastructure.
“Peace is the foundation of everything,” he said. “Now that we have peace, let us build wealth and transform Karamoja.”