Kasese IDPs told to leave Mubuku

By John ThawiteABOUT 81 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been given a month to leave Mubuku government Prison farm in Kasese district.The families settled on the land at Kabukero after they fled from the Allied Democratic Front (ADF) rebel attacks in Bugoye, Maliba and Kitswamba sub-counties.Prison authorities said the IDPs should return to their homes because the war ended. Another 54 families that were living on the land before the prison boundary was demarcated again in 1997, were given five months to leave.The orders were issued at a recent emergency meeting convened by the officer-in-charge of the prison, Dr. George Muge, following an eviction exercise in which about 44 IDP’s homes were burnt.The meeting was chaired by the Resident District Commissioner, Musa Ecweru and attended by the district chairman Yokasi Bihande, the outgoing district police commander, Pius Mutabazi, and other top district officials. They resolved that the 81 families leave by April 5.Muge said the area was designated for a female wing for the prison staff and a vocational training centre for the inmates. Ecweru assured the IDPs that their homes would be secure.