File: Tika village in Rhino Camp refugee settlement. Credit|Transformed International

The Ugandan police has cautioned refugees and their nationals against taking the laws into their hands by engaging in violence to settle grievances.

This is after a mob in Omugo camp stormed into the house of a South Sudanese refugee, and beat her up for allegedly poisoning a Ugandan national.

30-year-old Jogo Grace was pronounced dead on Sunday after being rushed to the hospital in Terego District.

Police in the area has apprehended 13 Ugandan nationals who were caught with arrows, machetes and sticks used in beating Grace.

The Police spokesperson in West Nile urged the locals and refugees to always seek remedies through government structures to resolve their differences.

“Such act of murder by mob do not leave room for investigations and so the communities should desist from them because they are quite barbaric and unlawful,” said Josephine Angucia.

She appealed to both sides to desist from using violence and instead strive for harmony among themselves.

“We urge members of the public to use proper means of solving problems. The matter should be reported to the police, investigated properly, the actual suspects be arrested and prosecuted in the court of law. So it is a court to award punishment to wrongdoers.”

There have been incidents of violence between refugees and the host communities in various settlement areas in Uganda.

In September, six South Sudanese refugees died in clashes with the host community in the Rhino Camp refugee settlement of Arua.

The fighting erupted after a dispute over a shared water point at the Tika village.

This forced the UNHCR to relocate 650 refugees from Palorinya camp in Obongi district to Palabek settlement in Lamwo District.

In July, three people were also killed as a result of fighting between the host community and South Sudanese refugees in Palorinya settlement.

The fighting was sparked by an accusation of food theft from farmland.

The Ugandan government has since then deployed joint security forces to maintain peace and security in the camps.