Members of Parliament (MPs) from Adjumani district have raised concern over the Apaa land insurgency, calling for urgent action from the Government.

Adjumani East County MP James Mamawi (NRM) has called for the Government to intervene in the matter before the problem escalates.

Mamawi, representing the conflict-torn constituency, painted a grim picture speaking of villages razed, farmers massacred, and fear gripping the local population as a group of Acholi community members mobilised over 100 boys and attacked Madi farmers near Molokodi.

"These are not mere skirmishes," he said in a tone filled with agony. This is a full-blown insurgency spilling over to Zoka, Ngoro territories! It all started last week on Tuesday when a group of Acholi Community members mobilised over 100 boys and attacked Madi farmers near Molokodi. Two Madi farmers (Vuni Peter and Asobasi Thomas) were tortured badly to the extent that they had to be hospitalised. One person who was detained by the Police was later handed to Acholi youth by Uganda police force,” Mamawi narrated.

This person, Mamawi said, was never found up to today. He added: “The reluctance of Police in helping the search efforts prompted the Madi people to launch their own search. During this search, few confrontations were recorded between Acholi and Madi that led to the burning of houses belonging to Madi people on Feb 18, 2024".

At night, he said, a few Madi community members also organised themselves and burnt down some houses belonging to Acholi Community members in revenge.

“Again, on Feb 19, 2024, Acholi mobilised heavily and attacked two villages of Madi farmers (Nyebeole and Eleku), and did terrifying destruction and killings only associated with Kony rebellion,” he said.

In the process, two Madi Community members (Tako and Drani) were killed instantly in cold blood, with many more badly injured, others missing and over 100 houses burnt down.

Mamawi reported that: “It should be recorded that Acholi Community members did not lose any life. No arrest has been made so far for the killings despite the fact that most of the attackers are known. No missing person recorded from Acholi Community.”

According to him, the eyewitness account indicate that the police gave the attackers protection particularly on February 18, 2024, as Acholi Community member go on destroying properties and houses of Madi people. 

He alleged that Molokodi police are part of the problem. “Ever since their deployment has been problematic as the authorities always deploy Officers from Acholi, Lango and Alur tribes. Those tribes easily take sides with their kinsmen Acholi to punish, torture and kill Madi people for farming in their land.”

He alleged that the highly connected Acholi people are playing all the dirty tricks possible to frustrate Madi people from greater Apaa area, adding that their leadership are too quick to play victim game and they always pretend and distort truth for the world to believe that they are victims.”

Mamawi also alleged that most of the Acholi Community members currently fighting for Appa are former Kony fighters. “They knew about the beauty of Apaa during Kony rebellion when Madi people could not access their land,” he said.

According to Mamawi, many other fights are going on in the areas of in zoka, ngoro and Eloku. He said the Government needs to come in and help settle the conflict.

Jesca Ababiku, the District Woman Representative, Adjumani, NRM, resonated deeply with Mamawi. “I blame the government for these clashes over our land. The president himself clarified last year on the issue of boundaries, why is his directive not being implemented?” she asked.

“The conflict is in two parishes of Lewa and Fuda which are in Adjumani. The Acholi people want our land. They are hungry for conflict. But for us we are peaceful people, and we are not stakeholders in the conflict,” she said.

According to her, the boundaries between the Adjumani and Amuru land has been confirmed, and there is no need for the people of Amuru to continue encroaching on the land. If they want land, she said, they know the right procedure to follow.

“These people should stop using their egos because the ego will not clear the borders. Apaa land is in Adjumani. Anything that happens in our land we are responsible for it. Let them leave us in peace. If the Acholi people want to live with us in peace they know the procedure, we are peaceful people and we don’t want conflict.”

Ababiku called on the government to urgently implement the president’s declaration on our borders.

George Bhoka Didi (Obongi County Obongi, NRM), said what is required is the good will of the government to take charge of the matter since the question of who owns what is clear.

“Two years ago, we were in State house and met with the president and it on record that Apaa belongs to Adjumani District and that part of the land is in the wildlife conservation area. Even the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja stated the Government position but later public pressure from Acholi people caused her to go back on her statement,’ he said.

Conclusively, “What is required is action on this issue. However, there seems to be an invisible hand in this conflict, like land grabbers, politicians that are promising people land that is not theirs, and people extracting resources like charcoal from the area.

But enough is enough, so many people have died, and property destroyed. The government must treat this as an urgent matter. The cultural leaders, the religious leaders and the technocrats should be brought on board to come up with a sustainable solution to this conflict,” he said.

The Itirikwa Subcounty LC3 chairperson, Jesus Iranya, said that yesterday more houses were burned down. However, he said that he was still gathering more facts from his colleagues to get the correct information on what exactly happened since he has not been in the area.

Olanya Gilbert (Kilak South County Amuru, FDC), said according to the constitution, anybody can live anywhere in the country. For example, in Amuru, we have people living there from Adjumani, also people are living Madi from Acholi because Ugandans are free to live anywhere, they want,’ he said.

“The government is planning to grab the Apaa land from the Acholi community. We are telling people to go for self-defense until death and we shall not encourage them to run away. We are going to withdraw from Parliament and go to Acholi and mobilise our people to fight for our land. Government is only using the name of the Madi people from Adjumani as a cover-up,” he said.

He added, “We have met the President over 22 times and presented this issue on the floor of the House over 30 times and nothing has been done. The Government wants this issue to appear as if it is a tribal conflict. But it is the Government grabbing the land and it to the investor called Bruce Martin comes from South Africa,” he said.

Security agencies speak out

Felix Kulayigye, the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) spokesperson, advised the MPs in the contested areas to promote peace instead of conflict.

“I would rather these politicians work together with the wananchi to promote harmonious living,” he said, adding: “And I'm using these words deliberately. The politicians are playing cheap politics to promote their stay in Parliament. They are dodging security interventions and going ahead to promote crime. There is no reason for the army to fight for either side of the group. We are an army for all the people”.

Kulayigye warned that when people undertake unprincipled stands and opinions, the consequences will be dire: “Politicians and other groups are playing tribalism and sectarianism games.

The fights are emanating from tribal sentiments that are hard to control and as a result people are dying. But they should also remember that the land that they are fighting for is a forest reserve and therefore Government land,” he said.

The North-West Nile Police region spokesperson, Ignatius Dragudu, said Police intelligence and field force officers are on the ground investigating the matter.

“We have all the documentation on the unrest that have happened in the area, and they are all registered in Adjumani Police Station. We are on the ground and all these issues are under investigation. We are not doing nothing as politicians are alleging. We have some suspects on the list that we are following and there is a possibility of getting to know their whereabouts,” he said.

Dragudu also said they are investigating the killers of the two people. "We are gathering information. We are professional and we can't believe that it’s our force terrorising people. Let the people have hope because one suspect will be gotten soon. We are supposed to protect people and we can't turn around and be the ones terrorizing the people.

He said that the situation is under control now and that farmers are back to activity.