Museveni asks Japadhola, Iteso to negotiate over new district boundaries

President Yoweri Museveni has advised the Iteso and Japadhola who are bickering over boundaries of the two proposed districts to be created by diving Tororo district to negotiate.

President Museveni made the appeal while meeting leaders and elders from the Iteso and Japadhola who live in Tororo district late last week on Wednesday. The two groups were led by their cultural leaders, His Highness Emorimor Papa Iteso Augustine Osuban and His Highness Kwar Adhola Moses Owor.

President Museveni gave the advice after His Highness Owor said it was more beneficial to have the two tribes live together since they have done so for long and have even intermarried.

"There are very few people who are behind this tension who we can identify and isolate such that we can stay peaceful together with our grandchildren and nephews," said Owor.

The 92-year-old Owor added that there is still room to have the two communities reconcile using a reputable government official to mediate on the conflict. In response Museveni said, "Please Kwar Adhola, you can negotiate with the Iteso and Emorimor who are here."

But Emorimor interjected, rejecting the idea of negotiations that could make the two tribes to continue staying together.

"We have been struggling with this same issue for more than 10 years. I think it is important that we separate and each one of us stay in their house happily to avoid quarrels and unending conflicts," said His Highness Emorimor.

Unhappy with his colleagues' response, the Kwar Adhola noted that he had heard the Itesot were organising themselves from Katakwi to Katakwa in Kenya with intension of squeezing the Japadhola, Banyole and Bagwere (War).

The Ekirigi (Prime Minister) of Iteso Cultural Union, Paul Sande Emolot however refuted the allegation, calling them mere fabrications. Wednesday's meeting at statehouse Entebbe regarding the feud over the boundaries of Tororo district was a follow up of two previous meetings one held in Rwakitura on July 11 and the one in Kisozi Ranch on May 30.

Earlier during the July 11 meeting, President Museveni had resolved that if Tororo Municipality is in Tororo County, then the proposed district of Tororo County will have it as its municipality.

"But if as alleged by the Jopadhola that some of the villages in Tororo Municipality were curved from West Buduma is true, then there will be a win-win option including creating a district within the Municipality as well," the President said.

During the meeting, Buduma South MP Oboth Oboth in his submission, asked the President to allow his side go to the colonial office in London to secure a copy of what he described as a different version of the colonial map of the area under contest.

MP Oboth told President Museveni that going to London will allow them access more facts about the boundaries from the colonial times. He noted that the history of the boundaries dates back to 1936.

"Mr. President the Japadhola in the diaspora have fundraised to pay for officials from the lands ministry air ticket in the economy class to fly to London to collect the documents. Allow us some time to do that," he said.

In response, Museveni told Oboth that he was okay with his request but that his findings might not change the current stand. The President explained that the doctrine of boundaries following the Addis summit of 1963 is that we have to respect the colonial boundaries as they are whether National, Local or International.

"You know what Iddi Amin did, he said that Naivasha was part of Uganda and he was right but that couldn't work. So even if you find that 1936 was correct we shall go with 1956 because that is the one the colonialist left behind which is most recent before independence," Museveni said.

Museveni said he will send a team to London to secure the documents Oboth was talking about. Oboth noted if everything goes well as planned, within two weeks after consulting the NRM coccus and cabinet for a wider consensus, the issue should be resolved.

At the beginning of the meeting, the President asked Julius Kitaka a senior principle staff cartographer in the Ministry of Lands to stand up and explain where Tororo Municipality was on the map. Kitaka then told the meeting that Bukedi had six counties which included Bugwere, Bunyole, Samia Bugwe, Pallisa, West Budama and Tororo, respectively.

He said the position of Tororo Municipality which grew from the then Tororo urban and rural is clearly marked in the map, showing that the Municipality was in Tororo, has been in Tororo and to date it is still in Tororo.

Kitaka said the map he was using was printed and published by lands and surveys of Uganda on September, 1, 1956. "The maps were drawn by the colonial masters and Bukedi was handed over by our colonial masters. It had six counties and Tororo town at that time, presently and it will remain so in future it is in Tororo County."

He further explained that the counties as handed by the colonial masters have remained stable and that even when some counties become districts it's only the names that changed. "No alterations of boundaries except division of some sub counties and creation of parishes was done," Kitaka said.

Presenting the second map Kitaka said it specifically reflects the sub counties of Tororo County and the Municipality in Tororo County drawn in 1963.  "But the county boundary as of 1956 remains the same and there has never been any expansion or extension of the Municipality to the West Budama County."

Among the ministers who were present at the meeting were Tom Butime the local government, Mwesigwa Rukutana Deputy Arttoney General, Betty Amongi the lands minister and Akiror Egunyu for Tourisim. A score of MPs from Teso Sub region and Tororo also attended.