West Nile district row deepens

Feb 15, 2007

THE controversy over the headquarters and a name for the new district combining Terego and Maracha counties is far from over.

By Milton Olupot

THE controversy over the headquarters and a name for the new district combining Terego and Maracha counties is far from over.

Following the declaration by the local government minister, Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, on January 25, that Nyadri was the headquarters of the new district, the politicians in Terego have decided to go to court to block the order.

The Terego group, led by the area MP, Kassiano Wadri, want the headquarters at Kubala.

In a letter to the Arua district chairperson, Otafiire declared that the district, deemed to have started on July 1 2006, would be centred at Nyadri, a trading centre in Maracha county, 24 miles north of Arua town.

It read: “On 13th September 2006, I visited both Nyadri and Kubala sites and addressed the Arua district council on the matter. I gave the leadership an opportunity to agree on the suitable site, which they have not done to-date.

“This impasse cannot be allowed to continue any longer because it is affecting the service delivery to the people in those two counties, for the said reason, I want to declare Nyadri the headquarters of the new district.”

Wadri, however, yesterday dismissed the minister’s decision, arguing that he had defied the legal advice of the Solicitor General, who said the district leaders should determine the name of the district and location of its headquarters.

“Of the 21 LC5 councillors, 13 voted for Kubala while six voted for Nyadri and two abstained. Otafiire has these results signed by the 13 councillors.

“I have instructed my lawyers to take up the matter, challenge the decision and quash his administrative order,” Wadri charged.

He argued that Terego is three times larger than Maracha and therefore if services were to be taken closer to people then it was better suited.

“To have a headquaters at Nyadri, 5 miles from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo would require people from places like Odoubu and Jue in Lowere Terego to travel a distance of 52 miles to reach Nyadri, yet Kubala is along the border of Terego and Maracha,” Wadri explained.

He said if the councillors’ decision was not respected, the people should be allowed to vote in a referendum.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});