At least 70 elephants are still roaming parts of Kitgum District, raising fresh fears among farmers whose crops have already been destroyed as authorities urge residents to remain vigilant and avoid confronting the animals. The elephants have been sighted in several parts of Chua East and other areas of the district this week despite ongoing efforts by security personnel and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers to drive them away from communities.
Geoffrey Oguti, the Kitgum Assistant Resident District Commissioner, says about 40 elephants were sighted on Tuesday in Namokora North, while another herd estimated at between 30 and 40 animals was reported in Palubolo Parish, Ogul Village and along the Ogul-Lunganyura stretch in Orom Sub-county. “There are elephants still in Chua East. On Tuesday, there were about 40 elephants in Namokora North,” Oguti said.
He said another group was spotted around Agoromin and Lujorongole, between Ogul and Lunganyura in Orom Sub-county. In Ladotonen, Kiteng Sub-county, authorities also found between three and five fresh elephant footprints, which Oguti said could indicate the movement of animals that recently left Mucwini.
“We suspect those elephants are the ones that left Mucwini last week and they are patrolling that area,” he said. Oguti added that six elephants were sighted last week around Pugoda East, near Oriyabu Primary School in Namokora, although authorities could not establish whether the animals remained in the area or had joined another herd.
For farmers, the continued presence of the elephants is more than a wildlife concern. It is threatening the little food and income families have managed to produce amid an ongoing drought. Herbert Richard Odongo, the LCIII Chairperson of Mucwini East, said elephants destroyed about 35 acres of crops in the area last week, including bananas, cassava and simsim.
“By yesterday, we had assessed 35 acres of crops destroyed. And as I talk, the GISO is still doing more assessments,” Odongo said. He said the destruction had worsened food insecurity in communities already struggling with the effects of drought. “The greatest worry is hunger because the little crops planted are being destroyed by elephants, yet there is drought,” Odongo said.
Odongo also expressed concern that government assistance to communities affected by elephant attacks has largely focused on Namokora and Orom, leaving residents in Greater Mucwini struggling to recover from their losses. “The whole of Greater Mucwini doesn’t get support when elephants destroy crops. It is mostly Namokora and Orom. So, we have been struggling, and we are appealing to the government to consider our pleas that we are also victims of elephant invasion,” he said.
Justin Olweny, a simsim farmer in Ogwapoke Village, Mucwini East Sub-county, said the elephants destroyed two acres of simsim that he had hoped would help his family recover after drought destroyed crops during the previous season. “We are already facing drought, so when elephants destroy the little food we have, it becomes very difficult for our families to survive. We are asking government to help drive the elephants away and support farmers whose crops have been destroyed,” Olweny said.
Pamela Akidi, another farmer in Ogwapoke Village, said she now lives with the fear that elephants could enter her garden at any time. Akidi lost an acre of cassava to the elephants last week. “Sometimes we hear that they are nearby, and we cannot go to our farms to work. I lost the crop that I expected to earn and feed my children with, and now I am worried about where our next food will come from,” Akidi said. Authorities are now urging residents to avoid taking matters into their own hands.
Oguti warned farmers not to confront the elephants and instead immediately alert security personnel and wildlife authorities whenever they see the animals or discover fresh footprints. “We call upon the farmers to be careful. If they see any footprints of elephants or they see the elephants, they should report to the forces,” he said.
Oguti said security personnel and UWA rangers were continuing efforts to push the elephants away from populated areas. The district is also awaiting feedback from a parliamentary committee on tourism, which visited Tikao on Sunday to assess concerns from communities affected by human-wildlife conflict.
The latest sightings have renewed concerns among communities in Kitgum living near wildlife corridors, where repeated elephant incursions have destroyed crops, threatened household food supplies and left farmers increasingly afraid to access their gardens-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
