Sebei sub-region lacks Water while water is taken to other regions
It is painful to see that in 2025, the people of Sebei still struggle to access clean and reliable water. Our mothers, children, and farmers walk for kilometers every day just to fetch water. Some carry it on their heads, others rely on donkeys, and many hire boda bodas to transport jerricans at up to 2,000 shillings each Jerrican during the dry season. Meanwhile, the water from our own Sipi River in Kapchorwa is being harvested and piped straight to Teso, specifically Bukedia, leaving our communities to watch the pipelines pass through their compounds and gardens without benefiting from a single drop.
To add to the insult, new irrigation schemes and water projects are being funded and built in other regions. Today, the government announced that over 71 billion shillings has been gazetted for the Achomai Irrigation Scheme in Teso. While we support national development, it is impossible to ignore the bitter reality: Sebei, with a son in the Ministry of Water and Environment—Minister Cheptoris—remains parched. The minister was last seen five years ago campaigning during the elections, and since then, we have never heard from him. We have seen promises made, pledges to bring safe water and irrigation to our people, yet nothing has changed.
Our rivers flow, our mountains catch the rains, and our land has enough natural water sources to sustain life and agriculture. Yet there are no functional water systems, no irrigation projects, and no serious investment from the government. We continue to watch as our water is exported to other regions, while our people continue to suffer.
This is not just neglect, it is betrayal. How can a region that produces leaders in charge of water remain thirsty? How can our farmers continue to lose crops every season while government projects flourish elsewhere? How can our people watch pipelines pass by their homes while walking kilometers for a jerrican of water?
The Sebei National Youth Movement demands immediate action. The government and the Ministry of Water and Environment must prioritize Sebei for clean water access and irrigation development. Our people deserve dignity, justice, and the same opportunities that other regions enjoy.
Sebei cannot continue to export water while its own people suffer. We will keep speaking out until our land, our farms, and our communities are given what they deserve.
