Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 20, 2026

Ik county

Ik county is a county in the Kaabong District in northeast Uganda. The county was established in 2015 to signal that the land belongs to the Ik people. The county is inhabited by several ethnic groups, including the Ik people, Dodoth people, and the Teso people.

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Ik county is a county in the Kaabong District in northeast Uganda.12 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.67 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:1011

  • Kamion subcounty
  • Morungole subcounty5
    • Korumo village12
  • 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 45 km 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

References

  1. 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. 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), "Chapter 6. Belonging", in Meinert, Lotte; Whyte, Susan Reynolds (eds.), 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. 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. "IK COUNTY - Census Data Dashboard". NPHC 2024 Dashboard. Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  11. 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.