Francis Mugerwa
15 May 2008
Buliisa — The eviction of pastoralists in the mid western district of Buliisa has commenced, Daily Monitor has learnt. Buliisa RDC Ms Florence Beyunga said pastoralists occupying natural reserves have already been given marching orders.
"We have directed the herdsmen to vacate the conservation areas. If they are adamant, we shall force them out," Ms Beyunga told Daily Monitor by telephone yesterday.
The pastoralists commonly known as Balaalo have since June 2007 been engaged in a bitter land and ethnic conflict with the Bagungu farmers in the district.
The two ethnic communities are scrambling for ownership of a fertile 40- acre piece of land covering the villages of Waiga, Bugana, Kichoke and Kataleba. Ms Beyunga said the pastoralists have been grazing in Murchison falls National Park and Bugungu Game Reserve, which contravenes environmental guidelines.
According to the RDC, the eviction process would be twofold. "We are initially using diplomacy telling them to vacate, but time will come when force would be used," she said.
The eviction is being implemented by officials from the Uganda Wildlife Authority and security personnel. However, those leaving the reserves are reportedly relocating to a disputed land in Waiga, Bugana and Kataleba.
But local leaders in Buliisa insist that the pastoralists should vacate the district immediately. "We appreciate the government's efforts to clear reserves of any intrusion. But our joy will only be short-lived until the herdsmen are completely relocated outside this district," said the LC5 Chairperson, Mr Fred Lukumu.
Buliisa MP Stephen Mukitale who was once injured in a fight with the herdsmen alleged that the pastoralists have sabotaged development projects in the district. He said they have blocked the Bagungu farmers from accessing cultivation land. The Bagungu used to grow cotton, rice and sorghum on the disputed land.
"With impunity and arrogance, they have blocked our people from utilising their ancestral land," Mr Mukitale said. While, addressing a rally at the district headquarters on April 22, President Yoweri Museveni ordered the herdsmen to vacate the district immediately.
The pastoralists protested the decision claiming that they are in the district legally under the protection of the constitution. "My clients are in Buliisa legally.
No one can illegally evict them," Mr Fred Mukasa-Lugalambi, the lawyer for the pastoralists, said adding that Ugandans are free to legally settle in any part of the country. The herdsmen contend that they bought the disputed land at Shs 800 million.
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