Two refugees were reportedly killed, and several others injured after violence erupted at Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Terego District over the Refugee Welfare Council elections. The violence on Tuesday left offices belonging to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), UNHCR and police damaged or set on fire. A police motorcycle and generator were also burnt, while two vehicles were badly damaged.
West Nile Police spokesperson Josephine Angucia said police had opened a case of arson and malicious damage to property under Terego CRB 289/2026.
Angucia said the violence started at about 2:30 pm when a group of South Sudanese refugees supporting Loro Charles James marched to Imvepi Police Station carrying placards demanding that the Refugee Welfare Council elections scheduled for Wednesday, August 26, be cancelled unless their preferred candidate was included on the ballot paper.
According to Angucia, police engaged the protesters and advised them to move to an open playground where authorities could address their grievances. However, the group allegedly turned violent, stoning police officers and vandalising the OPM administrative block.
“The group charged and started stoning police officers and vandalised the OPM administrative block. All the properties inside were set on fire. Imvepi Police office and barracks were set on fire,” Angucia said. She said the UNHCR office block and OPM canteen were also vandalised, while a police motorcycle and generator were burnt. Two vehicles were badly damaged and two police officers sustained injuries.
Angucia said seven suspects who were in police custody were aided to escape during the chaos. She added that two male refugees died during the confrontation. Their bodies were taken to Arua Regional Referral Hospital for postmortem examination.
The Arua Fire Brigade was called in to extinguish the fires, while police officers from Maracha and Field Force Unit personnel from the West Nile Region were deployed to reinforce security at the settlement. Police have so far arrested four suspects, Aate Jackline, Ojosile Guido, Onziga Lawrence and Oru Santino.
Angucia condemned the violence and urged refugees to use established mechanisms to resolve their grievances. “We condemn acts of refugees taking the law into their own hands to do destructions and to inflict injuries on others, without allowing the settlement authorities to resolve their concerns peacefully and lawfully,” she said.
She warned that those found to have participated in criminal acts would be prosecuted. “As investigations continue, those who will be found to have committed a crime shall be prosecuted before courts of law,” Angucia added.
The incident comes amid recurring tensions in some of the refugee settlements over access to food assistance and other services. Imvepi, Bidibidi and Omugo settlements have previously experienced protests linked to reductions and delays in food assistance.
The World Food Programme has progressively shifted from providing full food rations to reduced assistance under its categorisation system, with households placed in category 3 receiving no food assistance. Refugees have also raised concerns about being removed from food distribution lists during biometric verification exercises conducted by OPM.
The exercise is intended to identify people who have returned to South Sudan or are no longer eligible for assistance. Some refugees allege that the verification process has been unfair and accuse some OPM-linked personnel of demanding money to keep beneficiaries on food lists. The allegations have not been independently verified.
Limited access to social services, including healthcare, has also contributed to pressure in some settlements. Some refugees reportedly sell part of their food rations to raise money for treatment in Arua, citing limited health facilities within the settlements.
In 2018, refugees in Omugo reportedly vandalised WFP stores and burnt offices following a prolonged interruption in food distribution. Following Tuesday’s violence, security has been heavily deployed at Imvepi. Development partners have also reportedly evacuated staff from the settlement. Police investigations into the cause and extent of the violence are continuing-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
