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By Sunday Amandi Arua city Arua city leaders have come out to explain circumstances that led to the chaos in Odramacaku market on Monday August 10, 2026. Concerns arose from the community over a livestock market established in Onduparaka in Arua city, which th
By Sunday Amandi
Arua city
Arua city leaders have come out to explain circumstances that led to the chaos in Odramacaku market on Monday August 10, 2026.
Concerns arose from the community over a livestock market established in Onduparaka in Arua city, which they claimed was opened by the leaders to bring down Odramacaku livestock market and this claim prompted them to attack the leaders.
Marlon clarified that, the market in question is in the books of the security because of the legality of its creation, and clears that, they are not part of its creation.
“There is a gentleman called Andama Richard, former RDC Yumbe district, this man now masquerades to be having a clearance from the division commander of UPDF who sits in Gulu to do two things, one, to open a market in Onduparaka, two, to impound all livestock traders who are transporting animals in trucks to Congo, nobody under the law is allowed to open a market, if only the market is gazetted by the council,” Marlon said,
Godfery Mbigiti Jonah, the Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Ayivu division who was attacked in the fracas says, they gave directives for Richard Andama to follow the legal framework of establishing markets and failure will lead to his arrest.
“We invited him for a dialogue and we warned him that he had to formalize with the local authority, something he has failed to do, he has gone ahead to collect fees from these people who are trading in animals, so my humble appeal to him would be to stop, otherwise, people will go and arrest him, the division has already opened a file,” Jonah said.
However, Richard Andama, says, they are following the due process of the market establishment without any intention to kill Odramacaku livestock market.
“The traders said where they have been going, there are regional markets and a number of them gave recommendations of establishing a regional market well regulated in that government will be able to collect revenue, and when even we explained this to the division commander, he said that is well to go, we are not trying to ensure that Odramacaku market is not there, we had a meeting with the town clerk, his guidance was that we needed formally to apply, going forward, the council is supposed to sit, this is going to be a long process, they sit and pass this, we are aware of all these processes,” said Andama.
The community attacked Marlon Avutia, the mayor of Ayivu division, Godfery Mbigiti Jonah, the deputy Resident City Commissioner for Ayivu division, and the security during a meeting that was intended to ascertain their grievances over the implementation of the Ebola standard operating procedures to get relevant solutions.
According to the market Act of 2023, private markets must secure an official license from the relevant local authority before establishment and operation, and the local authorities oversee compliance, and licenses carry specific conditions with provisions for suspension or revocation if rules are broken.