Pader court orders man to rebuild borehole fence, fines student over theft

8 September 2026, 6:47 pm

By Geoffrey Okwong

Pader Chief Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 24-year-old man to two months of community service after convicting him of destroying a fence around a community borehole in Awere Sub-county, Pader District.

The convict, Isaac Rwotomiya, a resident of Bolodam Village, Lagile Parish, was found guilty of destroying a wall fence protecting a community borehole on 19 August 2026.

Prosecution told the court that the borehole serves residents of Bolodam Village and that Rwotomiya destroyed the structure, leading to his arrest and subsequent charge of destroying community property.

Presiding over the case, Her Worship Sylvie Kampire ordered Rwotomiya to carry out community service for two months by reconstructing the destroyed borehole wall fence.

The magistrate directed Rwotomiya to use his own resources to restore the structure without involving community members.

Kampire warned that failure to complete the work within the stipulated period would result in a one-year prison sentence.

Meanwhile, an 18-year-old Senior Three student of Lagwai Seed Secondary School has been fined after being convicted of stealing 10 chickens belonging to his uncle.

Ronald Oroma, a resident of Te-Oryang Village, Lagwai Parish, Pader Town Council, was convicted of stealing chickens valued at Shs 250,000 from his uncle, Hannington Odong, on 5 September 2026.

Prosecution, led by the Resident State Attorney for Pader, Evans Ivans Kyazze, told the court that Oroma was found in possession of one of the stolen chickens.

Kyazze asked the court to impose a fair sentence and order Oroma to compensate the complainant.

When asked why he committed the offence, Oroma told the court that he wanted money to buy personal necessities.

Magistrate Kampire fined Oroma Shs 200,000, payable to the court, and ordered him to pay an additional Shs 300,000 in compensation to his uncle.

Speaking after the ruling, Odong said the chickens were an important source of livelihood, helping him pay school fees for two of his grandchildren, pay workers on his garden and meet medical expenses, as his age no longer allows him to engage in heavy work.

Odong said the loss had left him uncertain about how he would continue supporting his grandchildren’s education and meeting other basic needs.

In another case, two residents of Angagura Sub-county have been remanded in prison after pleading guilty to illegally cutting down protected tree species, including shea nut trees.

Samuel Komakech and Rose Ayoo were accused of cutting down trees at Aswa Ranch on 5 September 2026.

Prosecution told the court that the two were found cutting down protected tree species whose destruction is prohibited.

The case came before Her Worship Sylvie Kampire, but the magistrate did not proceed with sentencing after it emerged that the matter was beyond her jurisdiction.

The court set 17 September 2026 for the ruling before another magistrate, while the two accused were remanded in prison until then.