Ik county

Ik county is a county in the Kaabong District in northeast Uganda.[1][2] The county was established in 2015 to signal that the land belongs to the Ik people.[3]: 147 [4] The county is inhabited by several ethnic groups, including the Ik people, Dodoth people,[2] and the Teso people.[5]

History

Ik County was created out of a part of Dodoth East County in July 2015, as part of a government resolution designating 65 new constituencies.[6][7] In September 2015, Uganda Radio Network reported that area leaders of the Ik community were advocating for the establishment of an Ik county to represent the Ik community.[8]

Geography

The county is located in the northeast of Uganda and borders the Turkana County of Kenya and Eastern Equatoria in South Sudan.[9]

Subcounties

There are three sub-counties of Ik county:[10][11]

  • Kamion subcounty
  • Morungole subcounty[5]
  • Timu subcounty

Demographics

The European Union Election Observation Mission noted only 2,051 voters for the 2016 election.[13]

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, in 2017, the county had a population of 4,023 people.[1] According to the 2024 National Population and Housing Census in Uganda, the county had a population of 17,872 in 2,783 households.[10]

Economy

Ik County lacks network infrastructure, which isolates it from the rest of Uganda's mobile economy.[14]

Education

In 2020, The Independent (Uganda) reported that Ik County had two primary schools and four community schools,[15] and by 2025 the Daily Monitor reported there were 3 community primary schools.[2] A 2018 report indicated that the Ik constituency was allotted funds to construct secondary schools.[16]

Some of the government-funded schools are as far as 45km away from communities, making education inaccessible for much of the population.[2]

Some of the known schools are:[2]

  • Timu Primary School, in Timu Subcounty
  • Kamion Primary School, in Kamion Subcounty
  • Ik Seed Secondary School, in Kamion Subcounty.[17]

Health

According to a Daily Monitor report from 2025, of the three subcounties in Ik County, only Kamion subcounty possesses a Level II Health Centre.[11] As of May 2025, the facility was staffed by only one midwife, Anna Grace Lochoro.[18] Timu and Murungole have only lower-tier health facilities which can sometimes be as far as 10 to 20 kilometers away.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b Townsend, Cathryn; Aktipis, Athena; Balliet, Daniel; Cronk, Lee (2020). "Generosity among the Ik of Uganda". Evolutionary Human Sciences. 2: e23. doi:10.1017/ehs.2020.22. ISSN 2513-843X. PMC 10427480. PMID 37588382.
  2. ^ a b c d e Nalweyiso, Barbara (2025-06-13). "Primary Four: Education limit in Karamoja's Ik County". Daily Monitor. Archived from the original on 11 July 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  3. ^ Otto, Ben Adol; Whyte, Michael; Whyte, Susan Reynolds (2023-06-30), Meinert, Lotte; Whyte, Susan Reynolds (eds.), "Chapter 6. Belonging", This Land Is Not For Sale: Trust and Transitions in Northern Uganda, Berghahn Books, pp. 138–156, doi:10.1515/9781805390473-012, ISBN 978-1-80539-047-3, retrieved 2025-11-25
  4. ^ Meinert, Lotte; Kjær, Anne Mette (2016-10-01). ""Land belongs to the people of Uganda": politicians' use of land issues in the 2016 election campaigns". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 10 (4): 769–788. doi:10.1080/17531055.2016.1274251. ISSN 1753-1055.
  5. ^ a b Study on the Availability and Distribution of Different Rangeland Products and Analysis of Market Opportunities for Selected Priority Products in Selected Cross-border Areas of the IGAD Region (PDF) (Report). IGAD Center for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD). 2024.
  6. ^ Nakatudde, Olive (15 July 2015). "Gov't Seeks Creation of 39 New Counties". Uganda Radio Network. Archived from the original on 25 November 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  7. ^ "MPs approve 65 constituencies". Daily Monitor. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  8. ^ Ebele, Stanley (24 September 2015). "Ik Leaders Ask For Government Services Extension". Uganda Radio Network. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  9. ^ Mbabazi, Hannington G. "Kaabong: IK MP Lokwang Breaks Silence On Poor Communication Infrastructure, Faults Gov't, Telecom Companies". The Standard News Uganda. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  10. ^ a b "IK COUNTY - Census Data Dashboard". NPHC 2024 Dashboard. Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  11. ^ a b c Nalweyiso, Barbara (2025-06-09). "Health challenges facing marginalised groups in Kaabong". Monitor. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  12. ^ Nalweyiso, Barbara (2025-11-03). "How lack of pads forces Morungole girls to drop out of school". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  13. ^ Final Report: Uganda Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Council Elections (PDF) (Report). European Union Election Observation Mission. 18 February 2016.
  14. ^ Onapatum, Richard (2025-05-11). "Ik community in Karamoja Climb Trees to search for Network". APT News. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  15. ^ "Education frustrates parliamentary hopefuls among Ik community". The Independent (Uganda). 2020-08-28. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  16. ^ Eninu, Edward (30 January 2018). "Tepeth, Ik To Get Secondary Schools". Uganda Radionetwork. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  17. ^ Webmaster (2025-05-09). "Leaders Unite To Champion Peace And Progress In Karamoja - Turkana Borderlands". UPDF. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  18. ^ Nalweyiso, Barbara (2025-05-30). "Lochoro: The lone midwife delivering Ik's babies". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
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