SUMMARY
The Karamoja region in north-eastern Uganda is home to a large number of agro-pastoralist groups. 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. As necessary resources such as water and pasture are scarce and the value ascribed to cattle is very high, fierce conflicts and large-scale cattle-raiding is a common phenomenon between the groups in the region. Tribal clashes can furthermore be characterized by a circular pattern since in order to assure survival, raided tribes must retaliate against other tribes to replenish lost livestock.
After a series of droughts in the last four decades of the 20th century, cattle raiding had increased dramatically in the Karamoja region. Governmental resolutions to disarm and encourage the Karimojong to abandon their nomadic way of life only complicated the situation as cattle were lost due to insufficient water supplies. When modern weapons became available in 1979, after the ouster of former dictator Idi Amin, the people in the Karamoja region retaliated against governmental forces and turned to intertribal raids. Instability was further increased as local defense units were created to support the regular police. These forces, armed and trained by the national army, were mostly composed of tribe members. As a result, the government was indirectly providing the Karimojong cluster with weapons and training used and applied in cattle raids.
Just like the other conflicts in Karamoja, the conflict between the Bokora Karimojong and the Matheniko Karimojong was characterized by vicious circles of raids, with the two groups taking turn raiding each other's cattle. Sometimes the attacks were swift with little loss of life, whereas other raids led to long-running battles, leaving many dead.
The non-state conflict between the Bokora Karimojong and the Matheniko Karimojong is first included in UCDP data in 1999. At the end of July of that year, Matheniko warriors attacked the Bokora Karimojong and the ensuing clash resulted in 140 battle-related deaths.
