Buliisa locals petition government over oil-rich land
Policemen chase cows during the eviction of pastoralists from Buliisa in 2010. The district land board says some residents want to encroach on the disputed land without authorisation. PHOTO BY FRANCIS MUGERWA
Buliisa residents have petitioned government to allow them access the 56-square mile piece of land where pastoralists were evicted.
The land, which covers Waiga, Bugana, Kichoke and Kataleba villages is within Block 2 in the Albertine Graben where Tullow Oil Uganda has registered back-to-back oil discoveries.
Ngege I , Ngege II and Kigogole oil wells are adjacent to the land.
Bunyoro Kingdom’s lands and oil minister Blasio Mugasa said the native Bagungu have owned the land for generations but recently, police had sealed it off.
“Police has blocked people from cultivating on this land much as the pastoralists were evicted in 2010.We petition government to allow us re-access our land which we legitimately own,” Mr Mugasa said.
The land is used for food and cotton production.
When this newspaper visited the land on Thursday, it found a police unit at Waiga-Kibaati Trading Centre patrolling the vast chunk of land which has been a source of bitter conflict between the native Bagungu and the itinerant herdsmen with each ethnic group claiming ownership.
The district police commander, Mr Ibrahim Saiga, in an interview on Tuesday, said the presence of police in the area should not surprise residents.
“We were there even before the eviction and we shall continue being there,” Mr Saiga said, adding that the land is in the hands of the district land board.
“We can only intervene on land issues if there is a request by the land board for us to do so or people come to that area with criminal intentions,” Mr Saiga.
Buliisa Land Board chairperson Sabiiti Tundulu said there were people who wanted to encroach on the land without being authorised by the board.
However, the pastoralists who were evicted sued government in 2010 at Masindi High Court in which they want court to permit them to repossess the land, be compensated and be offered any remedies court may deem fit.
Court documents reveal that Justice Ralph Ochan, who has been presiding over the case, has finalised the hearings and will deliver judgment on notice.
