Uganda-Tanzania Border: Was The Survey A Realistic Solution?
Oct 15, 2003
THE fracas about the Uganda-Tanzanian border dates to the pre-colonial days when one of the strongest kings of Buganda, Muteesa I, fought and expanded his empire to Karagwe, Zinja, Ukerebwe and Kiziba presently located in Tanzania.
By Eddie Ssejjoba
in Mutukula
THE fracas about the Uganda-Tanzanian border dates to the pre-colonial days when one of the strongest kings of Buganda, Muteesa I, fought and expanded his empire to Karagwe, Zinja, Ukerebwe and Kiziba presently located in Tanzania.
Muteesa, through his expansionist desires, had sent his chiefs to rule these areas that had fallen from the former larger Bunyoro-Kitara Empire, and put them under his rule until the British and German colonial masters arrived in East Africa and took over.
The colonialists later shared this territory some of which fell under the German administration. Many Tanzanian nationals with attachments to Buganda and other ancient traditions under the Bunyoro-Kitara Empire, traditions and clan lineages still exist and have impact in Northern Tanzania which has similar dialects to those in Uganda.
Under the Anglo-German agreement, the colonialists set the boundaries of their colonies at zero degrees South of the Equator as the borderline for the British East Africa and the German East Africa, disregarding the natural boundary at Kagera River that acted as a natural border between the ancient kingdoms. These among other reasons were some of the pretexts for Uganda’s former president, the late Idi Amin Dada, to attack Tanzania in 1978 in a bid to ‘reclaim Uganda’s lost territory’.
He took over Mutukula and pushed further inside Tanzanian up to Kagera River where he bombed a bridge at Kyaka and set the new ‘natural’ borders claiming that the colonialists had badly set the borders and encroached on Uganda’s land. He stated that Bukoba and Karagwe belonged to Uganda with former ancient small kingdoms of Kiziba, Uzinja, Ukerebwe and Karagwe located in the former Bunyoro-Kitara Empire. His actions drew concern from the international community and the OAU that directed him to respect the borders as left by the colonial masters.
But this though did not go down well with Tanzania, who with the help of other combined forces managed to push back Idi Amin in 1979 and later helped to oust him from power.
However, the border question between the two countries remained an issue, which has been silently resurfacing among the border communities resulting into complaints and conflicts especially among the cattle keepers from either side.
Many Ugandan pastorists had had their animals either impounded or killed by chiefs on the Tanzanian side claiming they had crossed into their territory and vice versa. Authorities from either side found out that this was partly due to lack of clear boundaries after the only pillars outlining the boundaries were vandalised by thugs looking for alleged existence of mercury in them, leaving the border a vast empty place with virtually nothing to warn anyone of the existence of a border.
Residents especially at Mutukula border town and other areas took advantage of this laxity from both governments and either built and settled in the ‘no man’s land’, or settled in another country, or encroached on a foreign land. This erupted into conflicts for animal watering places, grazing fields, forests and the Lake Victoria waters where many fishermen from both countries have engaged in fights and injured each other, or lost properties including boats on accusations of trespassing into another territory. It was until recently that the two governments sat and agreed to redraw the 110-kilometre stretch borderline from Katuna to Kagera River on the shores of Lake Victoria.
The Rakai deputy Resident District Commissioner, Zaina Muwonge who worked with the surveyors said there were only 15 pillars in between the 110 kilometre-border stretch, which were hardly visible. She said both countries agreed to increase the number of pillars to 400, and continuously clear the bushes indicating a clear line.
“We held several cross border meetings including surveyors and commissioners from both sides before arriving at the final decisions,†she said.
Justus Bwogi Mukooki, the acting commissioner for surveys in the Ministry of Lands, Water and Mineral development said, “We are almost through with the survey work, we’re just remaining with three kilometres of the forest areas in Minziiro and Maramagambo.â€
The two governments plan to put chain pillars, which would be visible enough, and the borderlines will be cleared at least once a year. The width from the borderline indicating the no settlement zone was reduced from 100 metres to 10 for fear it would swallow Mutukula town.
Surveys had indicated that the entire town on the Ugandan side would be no more because it had been build in the border territory but after the compromise, just a few homes, buildings, plantations and other properties were still affected.
Many people have been affected by these surveys with about 150 homesteads losing their nationalities and property to either side by either finding their homes are in the middle of the line. Bwogi said all homes within the no-man’s land face demolition to clear the territory.
Uganda’s customs barrier house at the Mutukula border was the first victim after it was found to have been built in the no-man’s land.
Next to the border post is a newly built semi-detached home belonging to Alphonse Dismus, a Tanzanian national who had bought the piece of land from a Ugandan and decided to settle in Uganda, with a family of 10. His daughter, Jane Dismus, is uncertain about the future.
She said the surveyors put writings of doom on their house indicating that one part belonged to Tanzania and the other to Uganda.
“We had no knowledge that where we were going to settle was a land of dispute, but now we just find our sitting room in Tanzania and the bedrooms and kitchen in Uganda,†Jane said.
Ends
in Mutukula
THE fracas about the Uganda-Tanzanian border dates to the pre-colonial days when one of the strongest kings of Buganda, Muteesa I, fought and expanded his empire to Karagwe, Zinja, Ukerebwe and Kiziba presently located in Tanzania.
Muteesa, through his expansionist desires, had sent his chiefs to rule these areas that had fallen from the former larger Bunyoro-Kitara Empire, and put them under his rule until the British and German colonial masters arrived in East Africa and took over.
The colonialists later shared this territory some of which fell under the German administration. Many Tanzanian nationals with attachments to Buganda and other ancient traditions under the Bunyoro-Kitara Empire, traditions and clan lineages still exist and have impact in Northern Tanzania which has similar dialects to those in Uganda.
Under the Anglo-German agreement, the colonialists set the boundaries of their colonies at zero degrees South of the Equator as the borderline for the British East Africa and the German East Africa, disregarding the natural boundary at Kagera River that acted as a natural border between the ancient kingdoms. These among other reasons were some of the pretexts for Uganda’s former president, the late Idi Amin Dada, to attack Tanzania in 1978 in a bid to ‘reclaim Uganda’s lost territory’.
He took over Mutukula and pushed further inside Tanzanian up to Kagera River where he bombed a bridge at Kyaka and set the new ‘natural’ borders claiming that the colonialists had badly set the borders and encroached on Uganda’s land. He stated that Bukoba and Karagwe belonged to Uganda with former ancient small kingdoms of Kiziba, Uzinja, Ukerebwe and Karagwe located in the former Bunyoro-Kitara Empire. His actions drew concern from the international community and the OAU that directed him to respect the borders as left by the colonial masters.
But this though did not go down well with Tanzania, who with the help of other combined forces managed to push back Idi Amin in 1979 and later helped to oust him from power.
However, the border question between the two countries remained an issue, which has been silently resurfacing among the border communities resulting into complaints and conflicts especially among the cattle keepers from either side.
Many Ugandan pastorists had had their animals either impounded or killed by chiefs on the Tanzanian side claiming they had crossed into their territory and vice versa. Authorities from either side found out that this was partly due to lack of clear boundaries after the only pillars outlining the boundaries were vandalised by thugs looking for alleged existence of mercury in them, leaving the border a vast empty place with virtually nothing to warn anyone of the existence of a border.
Residents especially at Mutukula border town and other areas took advantage of this laxity from both governments and either built and settled in the ‘no man’s land’, or settled in another country, or encroached on a foreign land. This erupted into conflicts for animal watering places, grazing fields, forests and the Lake Victoria waters where many fishermen from both countries have engaged in fights and injured each other, or lost properties including boats on accusations of trespassing into another territory. It was until recently that the two governments sat and agreed to redraw the 110-kilometre stretch borderline from Katuna to Kagera River on the shores of Lake Victoria.
The Rakai deputy Resident District Commissioner, Zaina Muwonge who worked with the surveyors said there were only 15 pillars in between the 110 kilometre-border stretch, which were hardly visible. She said both countries agreed to increase the number of pillars to 400, and continuously clear the bushes indicating a clear line.
“We held several cross border meetings including surveyors and commissioners from both sides before arriving at the final decisions,†she said.
Justus Bwogi Mukooki, the acting commissioner for surveys in the Ministry of Lands, Water and Mineral development said, “We are almost through with the survey work, we’re just remaining with three kilometres of the forest areas in Minziiro and Maramagambo.â€
The two governments plan to put chain pillars, which would be visible enough, and the borderlines will be cleared at least once a year. The width from the borderline indicating the no settlement zone was reduced from 100 metres to 10 for fear it would swallow Mutukula town.
Surveys had indicated that the entire town on the Ugandan side would be no more because it had been build in the border territory but after the compromise, just a few homes, buildings, plantations and other properties were still affected.
Many people have been affected by these surveys with about 150 homesteads losing their nationalities and property to either side by either finding their homes are in the middle of the line. Bwogi said all homes within the no-man’s land face demolition to clear the territory.
Uganda’s customs barrier house at the Mutukula border was the first victim after it was found to have been built in the no-man’s land.
Next to the border post is a newly built semi-detached home belonging to Alphonse Dismus, a Tanzanian national who had bought the piece of land from a Ugandan and decided to settle in Uganda, with a family of 10. His daughter, Jane Dismus, is uncertain about the future.
She said the surveyors put writings of doom on their house indicating that one part belonged to Tanzania and the other to Uganda.
“We had no knowledge that where we were going to settle was a land of dispute, but now we just find our sitting room in Tanzania and the bedrooms and kitchen in Uganda,†Jane said.
Ends