Relief as families evicted from elgon forest are resettled
Feb 03, 2009
MZEE Ezekiel Chemonges clearly remembers the day in 1983, when a group of Forest Authority guards and policemen stormed his home near Mt. Elgon in Kapchorwa.
By Frederick Womakuyu
MZEE Ezekiel Chemonges clearly remembers the day in 1983, when a group of Forest Authority guards and policemen stormed his home near Mt. Elgon in Kapchorwa.
“This is not your farm. You have to leave,†they ordered him before torching his house.
Chemonges, who now lives in Bukwo district, was one of the many Ndorobo families that were left homeless following a government decision to evict people from the Mt. Elgon Forest.
The Government later carved out 6,000 hectares of forest land to resettle about 800 Ndorobo, but Chemonges and 400 others were left out. “It was a merciless exercise,†says Chemonges, 70, a former maize farmer, who bought his 30-acre farm in 1978.
“I had nowhere to go and it became difficult to find food,†he says. “The Government should have helped us stay on our farms. We were not squatters, we had bought these farms.â€
At that time, his pleas fell on deaf ears, but when Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) took over the management of the forests in the 1990s, the body allowed them to settle there until they got an alternative. “UWA restored some hope, but we were not allowed to expand our farms and getting social services was a problem,†he says.
But now, thanks to the Bukwo local government and UWA, Chemonges is happy. The former refugees, who now call themselves the Kapsekek after breaking away from the Ndorobo, were resettled last year on land carved from the forest and next to their former farms.
The project, dubbed Kapsekek Resettlement, saw 163 families allocated 318 acres of Mt. Elgon Forest land to build houses, cultivate and establish social amenities like schools, water, roads and a community centre.
Christopher Songhor, the Bukwo resident district commissioner, says previously service delivery to the Kapsekek was difficult. “Because the people had settled in a conservation area, UWA could not allow us to construct health centres, schools and safe water sources. As a result, illiteracy was high and to access health services, they had to walk hundreds of kilometres,†he says.
David Kweko, one of the beneficiaries, says life has improved since they were settled. “I can now grow food and no longer scavenge or beg from the rich. I plan to grow maize next year and use it as a source of income to take my children to school.â€
Chemonges says although what he got was not equivalent to what he lost in 1983, he was content. “Getting something small that is yours is better than owning nothing,†he says.
George Kiprotich, the Bukwo district speaker and councillor for the Kapsekek people, is grateful to the Government for the resettlement initiative.
“The people were helpless and could not get food because they did not have farms. But now that they own land, farming has begun and many have started harvesting. It is a big step towards poverty eradication,†he says.
MZEE Ezekiel Chemonges clearly remembers the day in 1983, when a group of Forest Authority guards and policemen stormed his home near Mt. Elgon in Kapchorwa.
“This is not your farm. You have to leave,†they ordered him before torching his house.
Chemonges, who now lives in Bukwo district, was one of the many Ndorobo families that were left homeless following a government decision to evict people from the Mt. Elgon Forest.
The Government later carved out 6,000 hectares of forest land to resettle about 800 Ndorobo, but Chemonges and 400 others were left out. “It was a merciless exercise,†says Chemonges, 70, a former maize farmer, who bought his 30-acre farm in 1978.
“I had nowhere to go and it became difficult to find food,†he says. “The Government should have helped us stay on our farms. We were not squatters, we had bought these farms.â€
At that time, his pleas fell on deaf ears, but when Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) took over the management of the forests in the 1990s, the body allowed them to settle there until they got an alternative. “UWA restored some hope, but we were not allowed to expand our farms and getting social services was a problem,†he says.
But now, thanks to the Bukwo local government and UWA, Chemonges is happy. The former refugees, who now call themselves the Kapsekek after breaking away from the Ndorobo, were resettled last year on land carved from the forest and next to their former farms.
The project, dubbed Kapsekek Resettlement, saw 163 families allocated 318 acres of Mt. Elgon Forest land to build houses, cultivate and establish social amenities like schools, water, roads and a community centre.
Christopher Songhor, the Bukwo resident district commissioner, says previously service delivery to the Kapsekek was difficult. “Because the people had settled in a conservation area, UWA could not allow us to construct health centres, schools and safe water sources. As a result, illiteracy was high and to access health services, they had to walk hundreds of kilometres,†he says.
David Kweko, one of the beneficiaries, says life has improved since they were settled. “I can now grow food and no longer scavenge or beg from the rich. I plan to grow maize next year and use it as a source of income to take my children to school.â€
Chemonges says although what he got was not equivalent to what he lost in 1983, he was content. “Getting something small that is yours is better than owning nothing,†he says.
George Kiprotich, the Bukwo district speaker and councillor for the Kapsekek people, is grateful to the Government for the resettlement initiative.
“The people were helpless and could not get food because they did not have farms. But now that they own land, farming has begun and many have started harvesting. It is a big step towards poverty eradication,†he says.