Revenge attacks, cattle raids drivers of famine – activist
The Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani has said revenge attacks, cattle raids are among major factors driving food insecurity in the country.
Yakani raised the concerns on Tuesday about the increasing communal violence, saying it poses a great threat to food security in the country.
“Revenge attacks and cattle raiding, including growing frictions among the farmers and pastoralists in some parts of the country, will widen the food insecurity gap,” he said.
Yakani said communal violence might jeopardise the delivery of essential services such as medical care, general education, and the rule of law.
He said that it was time for the parliament to take action to mitigate communal violence before it spirals out of control.
“The nation will be taken by surprise if the lawmakers do not act now to exercise their constitutional oversight obligation to secure the communities from suffering due to the ongoing violence,” Yakani stated.
“It is better for our lawmakers to intervene on these concerns urgently strategically.”
As the farming season approaches, CEPO also advised legislators to support processes aimed at preventing communal violence from escalating.
Parliament should support the application of the rule of law and help with efficient police deployment to avert further bloodshed.
Yakani called on the parliament, through its specialised committees on Peace and Reconciliation, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Aid, to form a combined team to promptly analyse the situation across the country and report back with thorough findings for decision-making.
He warned that continuing community violence and squabbles were posing a serious threat to the country’s population.
“The silence about these reported alerts from the national parliament is observed. The parliamentarians’ silence is disturbing and stressing,” said Yakani.
However, CEPO promised to cooperate with national lawmakers in the specialised committees to address these issues as soon as possible.
