SUMMARY

The Jie are a traditionally agropastoralist people that reside in the area that is generally known as Karamoja, on the north-eastern tip of Uganda.

The Jie are part of an ethnic group referred to as Plains Nilotes, which spread from the lake Turkana area in Kenya in three directions: one into Kenya and Tanzania, (including the Massai); one to what is now southern Sudan; and one into Uganda (aside from the Jie also including the Karimojong, Iteso, Dodoth, and Turkana).

Karamoja region is divided into two administrative districts - Kotido to the north and Moroto to the south - with the Jie mainly located in the southern part of the former. The area, which is comprised of predominantly semiarid thorn savannah, is often described as one of the most inhospitable zones in Africa. Rainfall is erratic and the area suffers frequent draughts. In this context migratory livestock herding has proven to be the most sustainable way of life. The Jie rely on agropastoralism for their survival, which entails livestock herding accompanied by cyclical migrations of people and animal, supplemented by settled agricultural cultivation. Migration is a key component in this livelihood as it allows for the movement of herds between pasture areas in response to environmental pressures.

The relationship between the Jie and other neighbouring agropastoralist groups is defined by swift changes. Alliances are frequently brokered, but just as often broken. Competition for scarce resources such as water and pasture coupled with the high value placed on cattle has produced a culture of raiding and warfare and as most agropastoralist in the area today have access to automatic weapons, present-day rustling is an exceedingly bloody affair.

The Jie have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence