Koboko-Yumbe-Moyo road project-affected persons face forcible eviction
“The final eviction notice will be issued before December, followed by immediate enforcement. Structures will be demolished without further negotiation,” project manager Eng. Alex Otim warns.
Works state minister Musa Ecweru hailed the project as “the largest infrastructure investment the World Bank has ever made in Uganda, emphasising its role in transforming regional economies. (Credit: Adam Gule)
Residents along the long-awaited Koboko-Yumbe-Moyo road project have been urged to vacate structures in the road reserve by year’s end or face forcible eviction.
Despite over 95% of project-affected persons (PAPs) having accepted compensation since the World Bank-funded initiative began in 2023, unresolved land disputes and stubborn holdouts threaten to derail progress.
The 103.8km road, a flagship World Bank project under its Refugee Window, aims to boost regional connectivity and trade in areas hosting large refugee populations.
However, its path has become a battleground between development goals and entrenched land conflicts.
“The final eviction notice will be issued before December, followed by immediate enforcement. Structures will be demolished without further negotiation,” project manager Eng. Alex Otim warns.
Works state minister Musa Ecweru hailed the project as “the largest infrastructure investment the World Bank has ever made in Uganda, emphasising its role in transforming regional economies.
Yet, for families like those in the districts of Yumbe, Koboko, and Moyo, the promise of progress clashes with the reality of displacement.
Yumbe Resident District Commissioner Hajji Sulaiman Lubwama Bukya echoed government support, saying: “The president’s office and local governments will ensure uninterrupted work.”