Ugandans told to quit refugee camps

By K. MuhangaSTATE minister for disaster preparedness and refugees Christine Amongin Aporu, on Monday ordered Ugandans who had encroached on the settlement camps to leave the areas they had forcefully occupied. She directed that a survey of the two camps in southern Mbarara be carried out.She said, “The land was gazetted by the government and it was meant for refugees. Any Ugandan within the boundaries should quit the area. I’m the minister charged with monitoring and settling refugees and I will not let anyone infringe on the refugees liberty just because he or she is a national,” Aporu said.Aporu was on Monday visiting Nakivale and Oruchinga refugee resettlement camps in Mbarara following land wrangles that resulted into clashes between the refugees and the nationals there. According to eyewitnesses a number of people were injured in the clash.Refugee authorities said the original size of the land gazetted in 1962 was 86 square miles but the locals have squeezed it to only 30 square miles.Last year, the authorities commissioned a task force to settle the land problem in the camps and to re-locate the 58 square mile Nakivale camp, giving the rest back to the residents. However, the people The New Vision spoke to at Nakivale said, “the refugees own a small portion of land here. The land belonged to our grand parents even before the Rwandese refugees came in 1961. We cannot leave it.”They said they have land tittles but commandants of the camps said most of those claiming to be nationals are former Tutsi refugees who were in the camps. The district chairman, Fred Kamugira also visited the camps.