Contention rises as government plans to resettle landless communities on ranch 11.

Story by Information is Power .

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Kiryandongo, Uganda: Contention has risen over the anticipated resettlement of the Nubian and Kibyama communities on ranch 11 by government.

The developments came after government budgeted for 200 million shillings for resettling the affected communities, something that has been in process for about 20 years. 

According to Hon Karubanga Jacob Ateenyi, there has been delayed justice for people who were displaced by government and Lakwena wars and so it became necessary  for government to resettle the affected communities. 

He notes “Government promised to resettle the Kibyama and Nubian communities on ranch 11 after Uganda wildlife authority ruthlessly evicted people without compensation from Karuma wildlife game reserve in 1999” 

He further observed that during late President Iddi Amin’s tenure as president, government evicted people from the former Palestinian farm land and after his overthrow people returned before the government came in to also evict them without any compensation in 1986/1987. 

“Government committed itself to resettle the Nubian community on ranch 11 after being displaced during the Lakwena wars and so it is necessary for government to formerly resettle these people since the overdue issue is affecting the politics of the area”.

However according to Hon. Linos Ngompek, ranch 11 already has people living on it and therefore no one else should be brought on the same land. 

Commenting via one WhatsApp platform, he noted that “whoever will cross on ranch 11 will face stiff resistance because we have no land for resettling anyone”.

He states that it is very unfair for people who are already settled to be displaced rather any other piece of land should be identified for the same.

According to Hon Karubanga Jacob Ateenyi, it is now government to intervene and consider both sides since the displaced people have never seen justice and still suffer landlessness. The current move is to officially bring to government this situation so as to arrive to a permanent solution to this plight.

He adds that as MPs, their duty is to pursue this so as to hold government accountable for equity after surveying and analyzing the situation on ground.

“This should be our role as members of Parliament because if this issue is not solved and further left pending, at one point, it can lead to a reoccurrence of similar crisis as it was in the ranches and former Palestinian land as a result of allocation and sell of land to investors since it belongs to government”, Hon. Karubanga noted.

He adds that mafias are busy negotiating to sell the same land to investors.

Background

The first conflict started around 1911 when people who until then lived in today’s Murchison Falls game park were resettled southwards upon its creation with people and institutions losing land. After gazetting the park people are south of Bunyoro Game Reserve.

When the Karuma wildlife reserve was created, they moved south in vast lands. In 1968 an aerial survey of the disputed “Mawanda” boundary of the wildlife reserve was done and no topographical survey was done until recently when beacons were placed causing violent conflicts. 

During Amin’s regime in 1976, another conflict occurred as a result of irregular expropriation of land during the establishment of the former Palestinian land. In this case, peoples’ assets and property were assessed and valued with the hope of compensation or resettlement only to be brutally evicted. The majority of those evicted rushed back to the game reserve amidst unclear boundaries. 

After the fall of Amin, the original occupants of the Palestinian farmland regained occupancy as there was no activity taking place on the land, bearing in mind, they had not been compensated.

In 1986 when the NRM government came to power, the government was desirous of rejuvenating the land as a UPDF farm and in the process ignorantly evicted everybody that had occupied the land. The victims still moved to the game reserve.

In 1994 and 1998 evictions from the wildlife reserve were done in a bid to secure it amidst disputes. In 1999 a violent dispute occurred along the reserve boundary culminating in a brutal eviction that led to the loss of life and property. 

Masindi district council conducted a probe into these evictions in 2000, a report was produced and submitted to the Ministry of Lands. 

The Masindi probe report was considered by the cabinet and a decision was made to resettle these people together with the Nubians on Ranch 11. 

This was followed by the launch of the resettlement committee by Hon Baguma Isoke pending the land fund. 

In 2003 the conflict was again resurrected with the leasing of the former UPDF farmland to the Mukwano group of companies. In 2006, the president requested the minister in charge of the presidency to handle the Nubian community which did not happen. 

For all this long, victims have made various attempts to have government resettle them but several pledges by the government had never come to pass. 

The news of budgeting for the resettlement fund amounting to 200 million has caused a sigh of relief to the victims who hope that they will finally get resettled soon.