Kampala — RESIDENTS who illegally acquired land in Mt. Elgon forest reserve have been given two weeks to leave.

The tourism, trade and industry minister, Janat Mukwaya, has ordered rangers and local leaders to effect the directive on the land that was given out during the 1983 Benet resettlement programme.

Mukwaya, who was visiting Kapchorwa last week, directed the resident district commissioner, Jane Frances Kuka, to receive the land pending reallocation to the Yatui communities that were left out during the resettlement.

She warned that leaders who fail to comply with the directive would be forwarded to the Inspector General of Government for action.

"The Government set aside 6,000 hectares of land that was adequate for the resettlement of these forest communities but it was grabbed by rangers and chairpersons of allocation committees which led to shortages," she said.

Mukwaya addressed meetings at Teriet in Kaptanya sub-county and Chemuron in Kwosir sub-county. The areas are hosting hundreds of victims of evictions by illegal settlers in the forest.

The Government, she noted, had set aside Cheberen and Kisito areas for the temporary resettlement of 463 families that were affected by the February evictions.

The minister called for transparency in the resettlement of the Yatui, after noting that politicians were using the forest land issue to canvass for votes.

The district leaders requested the Government to allocate some 1,500 hectares of Mt. Elgon forest park land to the Yatui and Benet left out in the 1983 resettlement exercise.

Mukwaya pledged to forward the matter to the cabinet for appropriate action.