Buliisa leaders insist Balaalo should be relocated
Mar 12, 2008
It may be one of the rare demands, but the general desire for the people of Buliisa district in mid-western Uganda is that they would prefer land to oil if given a choice.
Buliisa
By Eddie Ssejjoba
It may be one of the rare demands, but the general desire for the people of Buliisa district in mid-western Uganda is that they would prefer land to oil if given a choice.
The Bagungu, in whose area seven oil wells have been discovered, are locked up in a land wrangle with herdsmen they consider intruders. They accuse them of taking over their cultivation land and turning it into a grazing area.
Their leaders have told the government that it would rather leave out development programmes for the area, but solve their land issues.
During the February Army Week, a team of government and UPDF officials led by the defense minister, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga and Commander of Defense Forces, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima met Buliisa district political and civil servants.
During the meeting, leaders warned government to act on the ‘Balaalo’ issue with urgency or regret the ‘consequences’. The LC5 chairman, Fred Lukumu, his deputy Moses Busingye and the chief administrative officer, Norbert Turyahikayo, received the guests who included the NRM chief whip, Winnie Kabakumba, internal affairs state minister Matia Kasaija and the UPDF spokesman Paddy Ankunda.
Lukumu explained that Buliisa is an isolated area and the people were grateful when it was granted district status and broke away from Masindi, which is 130km away. They are surrounded by Budongo Forest, Murchison Falls National Park and Lake Albert.
He said in 2003, herdsmen started coming in groups and ‘forcefully’ occupied certain areas until in June 2007 when they clashed with residents, leaving many injured from both sides.
He added that the district veterinary officer, Dr. Mubiru charged the herdsmen for moving cattle without proper documents and they were taken to court. Lukumu says President Museveni had also directed that they return to wherever they came from, but they secured a court injunction stopping their eviction. He added that the locals were alarmed by the heavy security the Police provided for the pastoralists.
“The Balaalo who possessed big numbers of cattle sold off their animals and bribed LC officials and some locals who sold them land which did not belong to them.†he said.
He argued that land in Buliisa is communally owned and no one could claim ownership, therefore, anybody who bought land acquired ‘hot air’. “The Government has taken too long to respond and people are running out of patience,†he explained. The matter has been aggravated by the increasing poverty amongst the community, and yet the prices of cotton, a traditional cash crop, recently shot up from sh300 to sh850 a kilogramme.
“This area is known for cotton growing and the industry is coming up again, but people cannot grow the crops because their area was taken over,†Lukumu said.
The Buliisa traditional county chief, Blasio Mugasa, suggested that the Government de-gazette part of the national park for the herdsmen to settle.
“You can leave out anything you may plan to do for us and solve this land problem,†Mugasa said.
Minister Kasaija apologised for the Government’s delay in solving this matter, but assured the people that it would be solved. “If the option of law fails we shall solve it politically,†he said.
Nyakairima warned leaders against inciting the public against the herdsmen, saying he would not let anyone use violence to solve a problem. “The era of using pangas and bloodshed is long forgotten in Uganda. We fought to end that era and we can not allow it to come back, and no one should ever think of using violence to settle matters,†he advised.
By Eddie Ssejjoba
It may be one of the rare demands, but the general desire for the people of Buliisa district in mid-western Uganda is that they would prefer land to oil if given a choice.
The Bagungu, in whose area seven oil wells have been discovered, are locked up in a land wrangle with herdsmen they consider intruders. They accuse them of taking over their cultivation land and turning it into a grazing area.
Their leaders have told the government that it would rather leave out development programmes for the area, but solve their land issues.
During the February Army Week, a team of government and UPDF officials led by the defense minister, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga and Commander of Defense Forces, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima met Buliisa district political and civil servants.
During the meeting, leaders warned government to act on the ‘Balaalo’ issue with urgency or regret the ‘consequences’. The LC5 chairman, Fred Lukumu, his deputy Moses Busingye and the chief administrative officer, Norbert Turyahikayo, received the guests who included the NRM chief whip, Winnie Kabakumba, internal affairs state minister Matia Kasaija and the UPDF spokesman Paddy Ankunda.
Lukumu explained that Buliisa is an isolated area and the people were grateful when it was granted district status and broke away from Masindi, which is 130km away. They are surrounded by Budongo Forest, Murchison Falls National Park and Lake Albert.
He said in 2003, herdsmen started coming in groups and ‘forcefully’ occupied certain areas until in June 2007 when they clashed with residents, leaving many injured from both sides.
He added that the district veterinary officer, Dr. Mubiru charged the herdsmen for moving cattle without proper documents and they were taken to court. Lukumu says President Museveni had also directed that they return to wherever they came from, but they secured a court injunction stopping their eviction. He added that the locals were alarmed by the heavy security the Police provided for the pastoralists.
“The Balaalo who possessed big numbers of cattle sold off their animals and bribed LC officials and some locals who sold them land which did not belong to them.†he said.
He argued that land in Buliisa is communally owned and no one could claim ownership, therefore, anybody who bought land acquired ‘hot air’. “The Government has taken too long to respond and people are running out of patience,†he explained. The matter has been aggravated by the increasing poverty amongst the community, and yet the prices of cotton, a traditional cash crop, recently shot up from sh300 to sh850 a kilogramme.
“This area is known for cotton growing and the industry is coming up again, but people cannot grow the crops because their area was taken over,†Lukumu said.
The Buliisa traditional county chief, Blasio Mugasa, suggested that the Government de-gazette part of the national park for the herdsmen to settle.
“You can leave out anything you may plan to do for us and solve this land problem,†Mugasa said.
Minister Kasaija apologised for the Government’s delay in solving this matter, but assured the people that it would be solved. “If the option of law fails we shall solve it politically,†he said.
Nyakairima warned leaders against inciting the public against the herdsmen, saying he would not let anyone use violence to solve a problem. “The era of using pangas and bloodshed is long forgotten in Uganda. We fought to end that era and we can not allow it to come back, and no one should ever think of using violence to settle matters,†he advised.