Acholi endorses Museveni’s plan on ending Apaa land row
Helpless. Some of the households in Apaa Village that were facing eviction in February. PHOTO BY JULIUS OCUNGI
What you need to know:
- The contested Apaa land measuring about 40 square kilometres is at the boundary between Amuru and Adjumani districts.
- Claimants. It is claimed by both local government leaders and residents from the two districts.
- The Uganda Wildlife Authority and the National Forestry Authority also claim the land is part of the gazetted East Madi Wildlife Game Reserve and Zoka Central Forest.
Gulu. Acholi leaders have agreed that the government moves back evicted Apaa tenants with evidence of land ownership to their land.
They would, however, be restricted from expanding to the gazetted areas.
The new endorsement is one of the three options President Museveni put forward last month to end the longstanding dispute between the warring communities of Acholi and Madi after he instituted an eight-man committee to weigh in on the three options.
The decision was reached last week following one week of consultations with the affected residents.
The other two options as suggested by the President include relocating the people to Acholi area and be supported and compensated by government or offering a portion of land in Adjumani Town, which is outside the gazetted land.
Position endorsed
The final position, endorsed by the selected committee members, government representatives and stakeholders from the affected communities, was communicated during a closed door meeting held at the UPDF 4th Division Barracks in Gulu and chaired by Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
Mr Daniel Komakech, the Acholi Committee chairperson, in a paper presented to Dr Rugunda, noted that the position was undertaken following consultations with the Apaa community.
“While in Apaa, the community recommended to the team to pick the second option (as suggested by the President) but with amendments. In their views, the problem would be resolved once and for all if there was total degazettement of Apaa,” he said.
Commenting on the other options, Dr Komakech said resettling the community outside the disputed land would lead to violence and would rob the locals of their customary land and heritage. “We believe the second option is the most affordable as the government will just address humanitarian needs and compensate communities for lives and properties lost during the previous eviction exercise,” he added.
Kilak North MP Anthony Akol, in an interview at the weekend, noted that the committee has presented their position with enough evidence, adding that they await the final communication from the President.
Dr Rugunda, in a statement, said the discussions were “candid” and were conducted in a mutually “respectful atmosphere”.
“We are going to brief the President on the progress so far made and on the outstanding issues that require further discussions,” he said.
However, Mr Simon Suru Baru, the head of Pakele Chiefdom and a member of the committee from Adjumani, said the only way to end the dispute is to settle the people outside the gazetted area.
“As Adjumani committee, we agreed to take the first option. They can be settled in any part of Adjumani or Uganda. We have land here, we can give land for settling them in the nine sub-counties of Adjumani,” he said.
