Over 170 evicted in Kasese land row

By John B. Thawite

KASESE - Police evicted about 170 irate cultivators from a piece of land claimed by the Basongora pastoralists in Nkoko village, Kasese district on Friday.

According to Kasese district police commander (DPC), Michael Sabila Musani, the cultivators had occupied the area claimed by the Basongora pastoralists.

Issuing the eviction order, the Rwenzori sub-regional criminal investigations chief, Mujwisagye was straightforward with the cultivators.

He said: “Your presence here is criminal trespass.”

DPC Musani told the evictees to “go back to their original places”, stressing further that “mine is an order.” He advised them to take up their issues with their leaders.

But the disgruntled cultivators hit back in protest. Many of them bellowed back:

“We shall die here!”

“How can we live in a swamp?”

“Are we frogs?”

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Presidential adviser on Rwenzori affairs Christine Muhindo tries to calm the leader of the cultivators (wearing cap) as Dr Wesonga (L) listens on. PHOTO/John B. Thawite

This drama unfolded during a meeting between the cultivators and a ministry of agriculture officials, Dr Fred Wesonga.

Dr Wesonga was in the district on Thursday and Friday to kick-start the surveying of the land that has sparked off periodic clashes since it was allocated to warring Basongora pastoralists and the mainly Bakonzo cultivators in 2008.

Team sent in

The friction started when the pastoralists, who had migrated to the eastern D.R Congo, were evicted and sent back for allegedly encroaching on Virunga National park.

Driving back hundreds of herds, the pastoralists, estimated at 650, occupied Queen Elizabeth National Park, from which the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) also ejected them, pitting them against the cultivators.

Trying to resettle the pastoralists, government deployed an inter-ministerial government technical team (GTT) led by Dr Olaho Mukani, of the lands ministry to handle the re-settlement exercise.

The GTT got some of the land from Ibuga and Mubuku Prisons, the army farm at Hima and the refugee settlement camp and in April 2008, re-allocated the land to the pastoralists and the cultivators in a ratio of 3:1 acres respectively.

While in Nkoko village to identify the coordinates of the land before it is surveyed Dr Wesonga, accompanied by surveyors and various security agencies, found about 171 cultivators had occupied an area claimed by the pastoralists.

‘Hidden motive’

Dr Wesonga said that according to a survey report of 2008 the cultivators were supposed to occupy an area comprising mainly the wetland while the pastoralists were allocated another portion of land.

The land allocated to the cultivators included about 20 acres of land in the wetland in the area.

The cultivators argued that the lands ministry had allocated them a swamp where they could neither construct homes nor cultivate crops.

But both the pastoralists and the cultivators accused Dr. Wesonga of having a hidden agenda.

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Some of the shelters before they were demolished. PHOTO/John B. Thawite

While the cultivators complained of being given a wetland, the pastoralists decried being denied the wetland wondering how their cattle would access the swamp for water.

Both sides argued that he was acting contrary to an earlier decision by former Kasese and now Amuru RDC, major Mwesigye, who had shown them a contrary allocation.

The cultivators insisted that according to the survey carried out in 2008, they were supposed to occupy part of the wetland while the pastoralists were allocated another piece of land.

The current Kasese RDC, Milton Odongo, tried in vain to convince the cultivators to accept the land given to them and then file a complaint to the lands ministry.

Referring to the Dr Mukani’s survey report, Odongo said it was now hard to alter the boundaries between the pastoralists’ and the cultivators’ acres of land.

Kasese district chairman, retired Lt Col Mawa Muhindo, said during a field meeting held at Nkoko village that there was no justice in the land distribution.

“We are going to inform the President that his people were allocated a swamp to live in,” he proclaimed.

The Presidential Advisor on the Rwenzori affairs, Christine Muhindo, pledged to forward the complaints to the Office of the President for urgent intervention.

“It is very inhuman to allocate a wetland to the cultivators. Where will they build their homes?” said Mike Asiimwe Mbakania , the councillor representing Kitswamba on the district council,.

By press time, police had been deployed in the contentious area to evict the cultivators.