Army accused of grabbing graves
President Museveni (wearing hat) tours land in Amuru District. This is one of the areas struggling with cases of land disputes. PHOTO BY PPU
What you need to know:
On the spot. Lamwo residents accuse the army of taking over their land after they were pushed into IDP camps during the two-decade LRA war.
Lamwo
Members of Padwat Clan in Lamwo District have accused the UPDF of encroaching on their ancestral burial grounds in Padwat northwest village.
The land is question was left vacant when hostilities between the government and the LRA rebels drove the occupants into the internally displaced people’s camps until 2006 when they returned.
Detaches built
Mr Willington Apita, one of the clan members, alleges that soldiers from the 5th Division, have established two detaches at the burial grounds that contain the remains of at least seven of their dead chiefs. “The army should not disturb the peace of the dead. This is our ancestral land,” he told Daily Monitor in an interview on Saturday.
Mr Ensio Ongee Oluma, the LC I chairperson of Padwat northwest village says since April, the UPDF has been busy clearing ground. “The activities of the UPDF are raising suspicion among former internally displaced persons for fear that they might lose their farmland to the army,” he said.
The LCII Chairperson Padwat, Mr Anthony Ayella Padwat, has written a letter to the Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG), calling on them to resolve the matter before it gets out of hand.
Aswa MP, also chairperson Acholi Parliamentary Group Reagan Okumu, admitted receiving the petition on the UPDF’s alleged intrusion but declined to discuss any details.
The UPDF 5th Division Army Public Relations Officer, Lt. Telesfa Turyamumanya, said the UPDF, being the people’s army, respect cultural institutions and cannot do things contrary to what the local community believes in.
