Africa-Press – Uganda. President Museveni has urged that the ongoing cattle compensation exercise in the Teso sub-region should benefit all households rather than concentrating the funds on a few claimants.
Speaking at Soroti University during a meeting with cattle compensation claimants, local leaders, and stakeholders, the president said the loss of cattle in Teso was caused by past wars, and what is often referred to as “compensation” should instead be regarded as rehabilitation.
He noted that in previous exercises, lawyers received a large portion of the funds, reducing the amounts that reached intended beneficiaries. To prevent this, government now ensures that payments are delivered directly to households.
President Museveni proposed that the outstanding shs169 billion be shared equitably among all homesteads in Teso, rather than giving large sums to a few claimants.
Illustrating his idea, he explained that if each cow is valued at shs1 million, the fund could cover 169,000 cows. With roughly 69,000 households in the region, each could receive about 2–3 cows, while the 28,000 households that have already benefited would be excluded from this allocation.
To ensure fairness, he suggested forming a committee of elders, youth, and women leaders to harmonize distribution and budget allocation.
The president added that, depending on calculations and phased disbursement, households could potentially receive up to five cows each.
Vice President Jessica Alupo thanked President Museveni for visiting Teso to address the longstanding cattle issue. She praised him for maintaining peace in the region, attributing stability to his visionary leadership and guidance of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
Deputy Attorney General Jackson Kafuuzi reported that the compensation process has been overhauled to ensure direct payments to verified claimants, moving away from court-mediated settlements. Verification now takes place at subregional and district levels, involving Local Council Committees (LC1, LC2), Chief Administrative Officers, District Government Officers, and local depots—deliberately avoiding centralized verification in Kampala.
The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs issues data cards for claimants to fill in their bio-data, which is verified from the village level up to the district registrar.
The system started in 2016/17 when the United States Committee verified thousands of claimants, including 16,946 in various subregions.
President Museveni launched the Cattle Compensation Initiative Series in March 2022 with a planned budget of shs200 billion. Since then, total payments have reached shs 506.7 billion.
Recent disbursements in the Lango Subregion alone included 12,389 payments worth shs 48.7 billion, with additional allocations across other subregions bringing the total for this round to shs128.3 billion through 28,281 payments.
However, 24,509 verified claimants remain unpaid, with outstanding claims totaling shs506.69 billion. These include 5,570 claimants in the Northern Subregion with claims worth shs191.5 billion, 8,284 claimants in the Eastern Subregion with claims amounting to shs119.26 billion, and 10,708 claimants in the Central Subregion with claims totaling shs 165.9 billion.
Delays are largely due to incorrect or duplicate account details, closed or blocked bank accounts, and mismatched claimant identification.
Bosco Okiror, MP for Usuk Constituency, urged government to enhance transparency in payments and resolve pending legal disputes.
He cited three court cases involving claimant Elijah Okupa and others, with claims totaling about USD 207,000 annually, mostly from Teso.
Okiror suggested that while some matters remain in court, negotiation could resolve issues faster. He further proposed that large claims be settled through phased and sequential payments, while emphasizing that compensation should go beyond cattle losses to also cover loss of life and destruction of property—requiring a holistic settlement.
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