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{
    "id": 1282038,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1282038/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 84,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Uganda’s strategic plan to end nomadism and was interested in knowing the plan on the Kenyan side, as well as how long Kenya expects Uganda to allow Turkana to graze in Uganda. On 24th June 2023, the Kenya High Commissioner in Kampala, through the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) liaison office in Moroto, arranged for a team of Turkana leaders led by Hon. Imana and two KDF Liaison Officers to visit the inmates. The team went to Jinja Main Prison and Kitalya Maximum Prison, where the Turkana herders were incarcerated. All the inmates were found to be in good health. However, they requested to be relocated to a warmer place that is more accommodating to Kenyan inmates in terms of language, such as Moroto Prison. This Mission requested the Ugandan Government and is still awaiting a response. It is actively following up on the matter. The Kenya High Commission in Uganda made consular visits to Murchison Bay Prison on 3rd July 2023 and the Jinja Main Prison on 10th July 2023 and distributed basic supplies to the Turkana herders and other Kenyans in the two jails. The Turkana County Government leadership has hired a lawyer in Kampala and filed an appeal on the matter on 20th April 2023 through Ms. Asingwire and Kakuru Advocates. The appeal, lodged within the 14-day appeal window, was filed to the General Court Martial at Makindye, the only available avenue to appeal under Ugandan law. The court has not responded on the hearing date, but the advocate is pursuing the matter. Another appeal was lodged through the prison’s internal mechanism but was filed late. The Kenya High Commission in Kampala is in contact with the welfare officers of each of the prisons where the herders are being held and will continue to arrange for relatives and Turkana leaders to visit the incarcerated individuals, as well as to provide consular services to all Kenyans in various Ugandan prisons in accordance with the protocols of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda. On 18th January 2018, Kenya and Uganda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a Cross-Border Programme for Sustainable Peace and Development to encourage closer interaction between the border communities of Turkana and Pokot in Kenya and the Karamoja in Uganda. The MoU also aims to combat the illegal flow of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs) in the region. This framework allows Kenyans to cross to Uganda to access grazing areas and watering points. However, Uganda expressly forbids Kenyans to crossover with weapons. Currently, the case of the Turkana herders is being escalated to the highest levels of the Executives of both countries. His Excellency President Museveni has given conditions for amnesty discussions. The first condition is that Kenya should arrest the killers of the three Ugandan geologists and the two UPDF soldiers. If this is accomplished, His Excellency President Museveni has asked Kenya to make reparations to the families of the deceased before any deliberations on amnesty for the retained Kenyans can commence. Lastly, Kenya’s top leadership is seized of the matter and has asked for expedited resolutions. The Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Dr Alred Mutua, has been in contact with his Ugandan counterpart, and a physical meeting will be organized in full appreciation of the urgency and severity of the matter. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. That was the response to the issue of the incarcerated Turkana."
}