Balaalo urge govt to intervene in Buliisa
Dec 19, 2010
THE Balaalo pastoralists have appealed to the Government to order Gen. David Tinyefuza to stop the Buliisa evictions, saying they are illegal.
By Darius Magara
THE Balaalo pastoralists have appealed to the Government to order Gen. David Tinyefuza to stop the Buliisa evictions, saying they are illegal.
Addressing the press at Open House in Kampala on Friday, their lawyer, Mukasa Lugalambi, said Tinyefuza was not acting on court orders to evict the pastoralists.
“We challenge Gen. Tinyefuza to display the court order he is purportedly using to evict our clients and re-distribute their land,†he said.
Tinyefuza, the national intelligence services co-ordinator, headed the operation in which pastoralists were evicted last week.
The operation, which called on the combined force of the UPDF and Police reportedly left the pastoralists homeless and destroyed their property.
The move, which stated on December 12, saw over 600 families evicted from their homes.
Although Court in Hoima ordered that the evictions be stopped, Tinyefuza said the court order had no consequence as the exercise had ended.
“I do not disobey the court. But I am not evicting any body now!†Tinyefuza said Thursday last week.
The evictions took place in the villages of Waiga, Waisoke, Bugana and Kataleba in Buliisa sub-county.
Lugalambi said his clients were bona fide purchasers of the land and had stayed on it unchallenged for years.
He added that: “At an appropriate time we shall reveal the big guys in Government with titles for Buliisa land.â€
The Bagungu accused the Balaalo pastoralists of encroaching on their land and grazing their animals in their gardens.
The Bagungu sued the pastoralists and asked court to have them evicted. The Bagungu won the case, but the Balaalo appealed.
Responding to Tinyefuza’s recent remark that the Balaalo are Banyarwanda, Franck Mackari said Tinyefuza knows that they are in Uganda legally.
Mackari is the general secretary of the Ugandan Banyarwanda Cultural Development Association.
Tinyefuza said that security agencies would remain stationed in the area to ensure that the evictees do not return. He said the eviction was executed with fairness.
However, Lugalambi said he would pursue the matter until the pastoralists found justice.
“If Tinyefuza does not stop and we fail to address the matter in the courts here, we shall take the matter to the International Criminal Court,†he vowed.
THE Balaalo pastoralists have appealed to the Government to order Gen. David Tinyefuza to stop the Buliisa evictions, saying they are illegal.
Addressing the press at Open House in Kampala on Friday, their lawyer, Mukasa Lugalambi, said Tinyefuza was not acting on court orders to evict the pastoralists.
“We challenge Gen. Tinyefuza to display the court order he is purportedly using to evict our clients and re-distribute their land,†he said.
Tinyefuza, the national intelligence services co-ordinator, headed the operation in which pastoralists were evicted last week.
The operation, which called on the combined force of the UPDF and Police reportedly left the pastoralists homeless and destroyed their property.
The move, which stated on December 12, saw over 600 families evicted from their homes.
Although Court in Hoima ordered that the evictions be stopped, Tinyefuza said the court order had no consequence as the exercise had ended.
“I do not disobey the court. But I am not evicting any body now!†Tinyefuza said Thursday last week.
The evictions took place in the villages of Waiga, Waisoke, Bugana and Kataleba in Buliisa sub-county.
Lugalambi said his clients were bona fide purchasers of the land and had stayed on it unchallenged for years.
He added that: “At an appropriate time we shall reveal the big guys in Government with titles for Buliisa land.â€
The Bagungu accused the Balaalo pastoralists of encroaching on their land and grazing their animals in their gardens.
The Bagungu sued the pastoralists and asked court to have them evicted. The Bagungu won the case, but the Balaalo appealed.
Responding to Tinyefuza’s recent remark that the Balaalo are Banyarwanda, Franck Mackari said Tinyefuza knows that they are in Uganda legally.
Mackari is the general secretary of the Ugandan Banyarwanda Cultural Development Association.
Tinyefuza said that security agencies would remain stationed in the area to ensure that the evictees do not return. He said the eviction was executed with fairness.
However, Lugalambi said he would pursue the matter until the pastoralists found justice.
“If Tinyefuza does not stop and we fail to address the matter in the courts here, we shall take the matter to the International Criminal Court,†he vowed.