Karamojong People, timeline

A Timeline
of the Karamojong People...

1000-1600	Ancestors of the Karamojong migrate from around Kaffa toward Mount Elgon.
1700s	The Karamojong settle north of Mount Elgon.
1706-1733	The Nyamdere, a period of prolonged drought and famine occurs.
about 1885	Firearms appear in Karamoja, brought by ivory-hunters and traders.
1894	An epidemic of cattle diseases (in particular, the virus rinderpest) decimates Karamojong herds, dispersing the people over a large area.
1900	The British-ruled Uganda Protectorate is established.
about 1900	Ethiopian warlords rapidly expand toward the Nile, and push through Karamoja.
1911	Concerned about their interests in controlling the Nile, the British send soldiers into Karamoja to repel the Ethiopians and other foreign exploitation. They also convince the Karamojong to disarm, who surrender their guns peacefully.
1916	The British attempt to control the Karamojong under the guise of "modernization."
1962	Uganda wins independence and Milton Obote becomes Prime Minister.
1960s	The Turkana and Toposa begin raiding Karamojong cattle and property by the use of modern, high-powered rifles. Ugandan police are totally ineffective at tracking down the foreign raiders, but are strict in their prohibition of gun-ownership for the Karamojong.
1966	Obote leads a coup against his political opponents and becomes President.
1970	The Karamojong refuse to join the Ugandan Army.
1971	Karamoja District is divided into Northern Karamoja and Southern Karamoja (later renamed Kotido and Moroto Districts, respectively).
1971	Colonel Idi Amin Dada seizes power in a military coup, and installs his army in Karamoja, which is effective at stopping the raids, but confiscates the recovered cattle. Over the next eight years Idi Amin's regime executes 30,000 Karamojong "for being too primitive."
1972-73	The Karamojong begin to manufacture their own crude homemade firearms, and use them to attack remote police outposts in order to obtain better weapons. With these new arms, the Karamojong then attack a large police headquarters and take many more guns.
1979	Amin's regime collapses as Tanzanian forces and Ugandan rebels move in from the south. The fleeing army trades and loses its weapons to the Karamojong. The regional army barracks in Moroto is stripped of its thousands of automatic weapons and tons of ammunition.
1979-80	Well-equipped with modern arms, the Karamojong begin large scale cattle raiding to the south and west.
1980	Milton Obote is elected President. Severely reduced crop planting in Karamoja (due to insecurity about banditry and raiding) and very erratic rainfall conspire to produce widespread famine. Over 20 % of the population dies due to starvation.
1979-81	The Dodoth lose nearly all their cattle to raiding.
1980s	Traditional life in Karamoja is disrupted by armed cattle rustlers.
1981	Civil war erupts in Uganda, with rebel forces led by Yoweri Museveni.
1984-85	Widespread famine is caused by severe drought. Large portions of the population are displaced in response to military operations trying to stem the violence and raiding brought on by hunger.
1985-86	The Okellos seize power from Obote by military coup, but are themselves overthrown by Yoweri Museveni, who installs a military government. During this struggle for power, the Karamojong again strip the Moroto armory of its many weapons. Museveni sends the army into Karamoja to confiscate the weapons from the Karamojong, but in their heavy-handed approach, only harden the Karamojong's resolve to control their own destiny by the possession and use of guns.
1989	A conference is held in Uganda to find solutions to the intractable problem of violence and raiding in Karamoja. The conference is completely ineffective and concludes without success.
1991	Another severe cycle of famine decimates some areas of Karamoja.
1992	Moroto District institutes local "vigilante" forces made up of respected and skilled Karamojong warriors and leaders. They are immediately effective at dealing with lawbreakers. Success of this force expands it to nearly 1000 men in Moroto District. Museveni is persuaded to support the vigilante program with money, uniforms, and training, but demands that it come under the authority of the national army.
1994	Nonparty elections are held as a first step to restoring democracy.
1996	A reasonable level of peace prevails in many areas of Karamoja.
1996	Trouble surfaces between a Turkana/Matheniko alliance and a Pian/Pokot alliance. Large scale armed violence seems imminent, but is narrowly averted by an eleventh-hour bid for peace and understanding by a "Peace Forum" called by David Pukol, Parliamentary Member for Moroto District. The forum involves Ugandan officials and leaders and elders of the involed tribes, and comes to a peaceful success.
2000-02	The Ugandan government tries voluntary disarmament of the Karamojong. Those in the south are very cooperative, although it comes to a battle with the Jie. Eventually, the disarmament has to be abandoned because the government cannot guarantee the safety of the Karamojong from the Turkana raiding across the border from Kenya. A new government in Kenya seems willing to work together with Uganda to facilitate disarmament on both sides and help prevent these raids in the future.

About KFC	Karamojong People		Pray With Us	Send Us E-mail
	Great Commission Christians	Development Organizations	Non-Resident Missionaries

This site has been produced by Karamoja for Christ and Technologies for Missions Int'l.
All text and images contained herein are Copyright © 2000, 2001,
Technologies for Missions Int'l and Karamoja for Christ, All rights reserved.

This document was updated on 5/25/04.