UWA apologises to Kitgum communities as elephant attacks, compensation delays spark outrage
The apology came during a community meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Trade and Tourism chaired by Kole South MP Boniface Okot. The legislators were on a visit to the affected areas on August 30, 2026, for a fact-finding mission.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has apologised to communities in Chua East County, Kitgum District, over persistent human-wildlife conflict, delayed compensation, and grievances. (Photo by Christoper Nyeko)
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The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has apologised to communities in Chua East County, Kitgum District, over persistent human-wildlife conflict, delayed compensation, and grievances surrounding the boundary of the Karenga Community Conservation Area.
The apology came during a community meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Trade and Tourism chaired by Kole South MP Boniface Okot. The legislators were on a visit to the affected areas on August 30, 2026, for a fact-finding mission.
The visit followed a motion tabled in Parliament by Chua East County MP John Calvin Okoya, who said thousands of households in Kitgum, particularly in Chua East, had suffered severe socio-economic losses because of persistent attacks by wild animals.
A major issue raised by the community was the disputed status of land in Tikao. Okoya told the committee that about 24 square kilometres of land belonging to Kitgum District were illegally gazetted as part of the Karenga Community Wildlife Area in 2003.
He said the gazetting followed a resolution by the then Kotido District Local Government to change the Karamoja Hunting Area into the Karenga Community Wildlife Area.
Okoya presented Statutory Instrument Number 5 of 2003, which he said was used to gazette the Tikao land.
According to him, the instrument states that the conservation area would end at Lugelet, the then border between Kotido and Kitgum districts, now in Karenga District.
However, he revealed that an annex to the instrument illegally extended the boundary to Orom Hill, inside Kitgum District.
Okoya wants the disputed section de-gazetted and returned to the community, arguing that it was included without consultation with the Kitgum District Local Government.
The dispute has also complicated compensation claims. Residents said UWA considers people living in Tikao to be encroachers and, as a result, does not compensate them for crops, property, and other losses caused by wildlife.
Communities demand electric fence
Residents also questioned the slow implementation of a 2024 presidential directive to UWA to install an electric fence to prevent elephants and other animals from entering community land.
No fencing is currently taking place in Tikao because of the land dispute. Residents insist that the fence should follow the recognised park boundary and should not be constructed on community land.
Irene Ayoo, a councillor representing Orom sub-county on the Kitgum District Council, challenged UWA over ownership of the disputed land.
She said that in 2010, the Orom community offered the land to the Uganda Prisons Service, which currently occupies it and uses it as a prison farm.
During the meeting, residents praised the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF), saying soldiers are often the ones who respond when elephants enter community land, while UWA personnel are slow to react.
Thousands await compensation
Local leaders presented several cases of residents who have suffered losses or injuries but are still waiting for compensation.
Alfred Okema, the chairperson of Kiteny sub-county, told the parliamentary committee that one claimant, Elda Oyella, said her garden was destroyed and assessed by UWA personnel, who also took photographs. However, Okema said the photographs had never been attached to her compensation file.
According to Okema, another resident identified as Polina Akwero, an elderly woman injured by an elephant, has not received compensation since 2025.
Jimmy Acaye, the chairperson of Orom sub-county, told the committee that about 4,300 people whose crops and property were destroyed and assessed have not been compensated.
Acaye said he currently has 500 files submitted by affected residents in his office.
Human cost of the conflict
Grace Acan, 54, a resident of Lutor village in Orom sub-county, told the committee that her two-year-old granddaughter was attacked by an elephant in July 2026 while she was in the garden with her expectant mother, Brenda Aloyo.
"The child sustained a wound to her thigh and is still receiving treatment," Acan said, adding that she has been struggling to meet the child's medical expenses without financial support from UWA.
She noted that Aloyo, who was also attacked while pregnant, continues to experience pain and that the family is seeking money for a scan to establish whether the unborn baby is safe.
Acan told the committee that UWA has not supported the treatment of the child and presented the injured girl to the MPs during their visit on Sunday.
Moderick Ocira, an uncle of the late Rose Natyanaga, said his niece, a mother of six from Ludwar in Orom sub-county, was killed by a stray elephant on July 30, 2026, while she was in the garden.
Ocira said Natyanaga left behind six children, adding that the family's attempt to obtain compensation was complicated by the requirement to secure letters of administration, which would first require the family to advertise in a newspaper.
"The process was too costly and tedious for a family that has no money," he stated.
Anywar said the community is not opposed to conservation, but wants wildlife to remain within the areas designated for them.
“The community is not against conservation, but demands that all the animals stay where they are supposed to stay, but not on the community land,” he said.
MP Okoya said the community's main demand was for the disputed land to be returned to them. He accused UWA personnel in Tikao of being slow and arrogant in responding to community concerns.
UWA acknowledges shortcomings
David Musingo, the Commissioner for Community Conservation and Ex-Situ Wildlife Services at UWA, apologised to the affected communities and leaders in Kitgum, acknowledging the severity of the human-wildlife conflict.
He said the concerns raised during the meeting would trigger immediate action. “If people have been sleeping on the job, this is not the time to sleep on the job. This is the new UWA. We want you to enjoy your land,” Musingo said.
Musingo pledged that people who had been injured by wildlife and were awaiting verification would be compensated within two weeks.
He said UWA would process more than 1,000 crop-damage files currently at its Entebbe office.
Musingo attributed some of the delays in compensation to inadequate funding, saying UWA's budget for compensation had previously been only sh2b.
He said the Government in this financial year (2026/27) had since increased the compensation budget to more than sh3b.
He revealed that UWA has also submitted a proposal to increase compensation for families whose loved ones are killed by wild animals from sh20m to sh30m per person.
The proposal, he noted, would also increase burial facilitation from sh2m to sh5m, adding that the changes are awaiting endorsement by the trade and tourism minister.
Dr Eric Engel, the chief warden of Kidepo Valley National Game Park, said UWA is beginning community sensitisation to support the installation of the electric fence in the Kitgum area.
He clarified that UWA staff were not interested in taking community land, but in protecting land belonging to the Government.
MP Okot said his committee (trade and tourism) had identified several challenges, including weaknesses in the compensation process, which he said is entangled in corruption and cumbersome procedures.
Okot pledged that the committee would present its findings and recommendations to Parliament to ensure that the concerns raised by the communities are addressed.