During the Tuesday plenary session of Parliament, Soroti City Woman MP Joan Alobo demanded that Parliament passes a resolution condemning UWA and their mother Ministry of Tourism for failing to mitigate the situation against 6 leopards which she said were moving in pairs and were causing residents in her area to have sleepless nights.
She claimed this had been the situation for several days and that no response had been given by government despite the fact that she reported this already to the authorities. She read out names of residents whose cattle and other livestock had already been killed and devoured by the leopards which she said were freely roaming the area during both day and night.
She caused laughter when she said when its night and more so when it rains, the leopards go on rampage and storm people’s homes to shelter against the rain. She claimed that sometimes the big cats forcefully open people’s houses and shelter in their sitting rooms, besides devouring animals, a big source of livelihood for many.
Oboth-Oboth looked scared about this situation and more so the guts for the cats to gain access and forcefully take over peoples sitting rooms and corridors. Oboth-Oboth asked Minister David Bahati, who represented the leader of government business, to put himself in the shoes of such Soroti residents. He veiledly demanded to know whether Bahati would be able to comfortably sleep in his bedroom and enjoy nocturnal games with his spouse well aware that the leopards are lounging in his sitting room, next door.
Oboth-Oboth said, like any other Ugandan, the people of Soroti have a right to have their nocturnal enjoyment at night without having to worry about presence of the leopards in their sitting rooms. He demanded that this right gets recognized and respected by the GoU, which by law is required to secure all citizens against such threats and uncertainties
MPs led by Solomon Silwany accused Bahati of taking people’s concerns casually after he asked for time to ring and consult the tourism Minister Susan Nakawuki who wasn’t present in the Tuesday plenary. After consulting fellow Ministers, Bahati returned to the microphone and revealed that Gen Jim Muhwezi the security minister had been dispatched to rush to Soroti and oversee operations aimed at evacuating the big cats back to their natural habitat. He said Gen Muhwezi was coordinating with the other sister agencies and that he had, in a phone call, assured him all was going well and that the situation would soon be returned to normal. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
