The Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) 



Origins

In 1993, as part of the Government’s vigilante programme strictly confined to Karamoja, home guards and local vigilantes were recruited to undergo military, charged with protecting the lives of the Karamajong and, more specially, their cattle. Vigilantes were eventually replaced by the ASTU under the Internal Affairs Ministry.

In June 1993, the government set up a Karamoja Pacification Committee headed by a Divisional Army Commander and comprised mainly of security personnel in the region. The committee was responsible for finding a solution to the military problem in the Karamoja region. Through their initiatives, warriors were allowed to keep their guns for self-defense against aggression, whether external or internal, as and when the need arose. By allowing them to keep their guns, they were required to serve the state to ensure peace and security in the grazing and permanent settlement areas. This was the birth of the Vigilante Program, a community-based system of controlling raids, that involved Karimojong cattle camp leaders and local councils from Karamoja and the neighboring districts.

The terms ASTU and Local Defence Units (LDUs) are often used interchangeably.

 

Location / Main area of operation

The ASTU have been deployed to Teso, Sebei, Bugisu, Lango, and Acholi sub-regions.


Objectives

The ASTU form part of the Uganda Police Force’s auxiliary forces whose recruitment is provided for under Part VIII and section 65 (1) of the Police Statute 1994. They were formed as part of the Government’s strategy to address armed violence in the districts neighbouring Karamoja. More precisely, the aims of the ASTU are tracking down stolen animals and the errant Karamajong warriors responsible for such acts, ending highway robbery by the Karamajong warriors, and encouraging other cattle raiders to register their weapons with the local administration to become vigilantes. Moreover, the ASTU would provide the basis for actual reconciliation between warring ethnic groups, since different ethnic groups would sometimes work with the vigilantes to counter raids.

Number of Members


Membership is estimated to be around 4,410 individuals. (See section “Structure of the organization”)

Type : National

The ASTU are a pro-government paramilitary unit under the command of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; while the group is headed by the government, they are often insubordinate. (see Section Leaders).

Conflict Status : Active

The ASTU are currently active.

Structure of the organization

The ASTU is comprised primarily of former vigilantes who were recruited, trained, and deployed to protect the neighbouring districts of Karamoja from armed cattle raiding carried out by Karimojong warriors under the Government’s vigilante programme.
The ASTU also includes former Amuka and Arrow Boy militia from Lango and Teso sub-regions. Indeed, as mentioned in an Reliefweb report, the demobilization of Arrow Boys has influenced the role and the organization of ASTU: “Elements of the Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU) are being re-organized to fill the gaps created by the demobilization of Arrow Militia. 1,300 ASTU were cleared for deployment on 6 July, bringing the total ASTU strength to 4,410 trained individuals deployed across 11 districts. The target is to recruit and train 7,000 ASTU personnel.”

 

Leadership

The ASTU fall under the command of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and are administered directly by the Police Force. However, as explained by David Francis, it seems to have been a deliberate attempt to keep the ASTU less effective as a democratic force. The members of the groups do not have clear terms of service and they are not part of a regular force. Essentially, they are not totally under government control and discipline in this group has deteriotated. Cases of gun trafficking, rape, cattle rustling, and other crimes have been reported.

 

External aid/Third party involvement

No information is available on this matter.

External effects of the NSAG's armed activities

No information is available on this matter.

Funding

In September 2006, the government was reported to have set aside Ush 8 billion for the ASTU in buffer zones bordering Karamoja to protect communities from cattle raiders.


 

Relationship with the international community

No information is available on this matter.

Books

  • Balencie, J-M & de la Grange, A. (2005), Les Nouveaux Mondes rebelles (Paris: éditions Michalon).
  • German, Richard & Taylor, Elizabeth (2004), “Uganda," in Szajkowski, Bogdan (ed) Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of the World 492 (London: John Harper Publishing).
  • David Francis, (2005) Civil Militia Africa's intractable security menace, (Ashgate Publishing Limited )

 

Articles and Chapters

  • Westbrook, David, “The Torment of Northern Uganda: A Legacy of Missed Opportunities," OJPCR: The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution, Issue 3.2, June 2000. Available at : link
  • Bruce Baker, “Popular Justice and Policing from bush war to democracy: Uganda 1981-2004," International Journal of the Sociology of Law, n°32, (2004), 333-348, available at: link
  • Lamwaka, Caroline, “Civil War and the Peace Process in Uganda 1986-1997," 4 2 East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights (1998), available at link
  • Muhereza, Frank Emmanuel “Violence and the State in Karamoja: Causes of Conflict, Initiative for Peace," Cultural Survival Quarterly, Issue 22.4, (1999), available at: link

 

Reports and resolutions of intergovernmental organizations

  • UN OCHA, Uganda Humanitarian Situation Report: 1 - 31 Jul 2007, available at : link. Last accessed in August 2008.
  • UNOCHA IRIN, Government to disarm warriors in the Northeast, 27 September 2004, available at link. Accessed on September 2008.

 

Governmental reports

  • Gersony, Robert, The Anguish of Northern Uganda, Results of a field-based assessement of the civil conflicts in Northern Uganda, Submitted to: United States Embassy, Kampala USAID Mission, Kampala, August 1997.

 

Reports of think tanks and non-governmental organizations

  • Refugee Law Project, Lomo (2004) Zachary and Lucy Hovil, Behind the Violence: Causes, Consequences and the Search for Solutions to the War in Northern Uganda, Working Paper No.11, , available at : link
  • Human Rights Watch (2006) In Hope and Fear: Uganda’s Presidential and Parliamentary Polls, , available at: link
  • InterAction (2006) Paul, Diane, Fulfilling the Forgotten Promise: The Protection of Civilians in Northern Uganda, available at : link
  • Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (2006) A Review of the Uganda Police Force Budget and its Effect on Crime Management, available at link
     

Press Information (in chronological order)

  • “Prime Minister warns thieves," Ojwee, Denis , Sunday Vision, 16 September 2006.
  • “Reviving Northern Uganda," The New Vision, 14 November 2006.
  • “Museveni passes out policemen," The New Vision, 14 July 2006.
  • “Anti Stock Theft Units formed in Teso, Lango” Simba FM, 24 July 2006.
  • “Compulsory Cattle Branding to be introduced in Karamoja," Simba FM, 8 October 2006.
     

Interviews

Internet resources

Statements of the armed group

Agreements involving armed groups