Army to evict park encroachers
May 04, 2008
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has ordered the immediate eviction of pastoralists occupying national parks and protected forest reserves.
By Barbara Among
and Alfred Wasike
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has ordered the immediate eviction of pastoralists occupying national parks and protected forest reserves.
“The evictions will affect all the illegal encroachers including the Balaalo, Basongosora, Bahima and others,†army spokesperson Maj. Paddy Ankunda said. The army will conduct the exercise together with the Police, he added.
Those who refuse to be relocated will be prosecuted.
“We are mobilising them to move from the gazetted areas. The evictions will affect those who resist the mobilisation.
“We are looking at Kabalega National Park, Budongo forest reserves, areas like Bulisa in Masindi and other districts.â€
Asked where the encroachers should move to, he said: “Our order is to ensure that they leave the gazetted areas. The Prime Minister’s Office will handle the rest.â€
The Basangora, who were chased out of Congo in 2006, had occupied parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park, while the Balaalo are said to have entered Murchison National Falls Park and neighbouring forest reserves in the north.
The question of pastoralists and their cattle settling in reserves and on communal land has been a contentious one, sparking wrangles with the local farmers in several parts of Uganda, most notably in Bulisa district.
and Alfred Wasike
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has ordered the immediate eviction of pastoralists occupying national parks and protected forest reserves.
“The evictions will affect all the illegal encroachers including the Balaalo, Basongosora, Bahima and others,†army spokesperson Maj. Paddy Ankunda said. The army will conduct the exercise together with the Police, he added.
Those who refuse to be relocated will be prosecuted.
“We are mobilising them to move from the gazetted areas. The evictions will affect those who resist the mobilisation.
“We are looking at Kabalega National Park, Budongo forest reserves, areas like Bulisa in Masindi and other districts.â€
Asked where the encroachers should move to, he said: “Our order is to ensure that they leave the gazetted areas. The Prime Minister’s Office will handle the rest.â€
The Basangora, who were chased out of Congo in 2006, had occupied parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park, while the Balaalo are said to have entered Murchison National Falls Park and neighbouring forest reserves in the north.
The question of pastoralists and their cattle settling in reserves and on communal land has been a contentious one, sparking wrangles with the local farmers in several parts of Uganda, most notably in Bulisa district.