Government won’t pay witchdoctors to leave Isimba, insist officials

Site. An aerial view of the Isimba hydropower dam that is still under construction in Kayunga District. Five witchdoctors tasked government to pay them Shs400m in compensation before the dam can commence generating power. PPU PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • In an interview, Hajj Dunga Moses, the Kamuli District RDC, told Daily Monitor that the witchdoctors’ demands were invalid since they illegally settled there.

KAMULI/KAYUNGA. Government will not be compensating witchdoctors a whooping Shs400 to relocate their shrines and spirits from the yet-to-be completed Isimba hydropower dam.
The Isimba construction (183 MW HPP) that stands at 92.5% of physical completion, is expected to be commissioned by March 31, 2019.
However, about a month ago, a group of five witchdoctors tasked government to pay them Shs400m in compensation before the dam starts generating power.

The demands
The witchdoctors, according to Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL), are based at Isimba, Nabukidi and Kirindi villages.
An official of Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) based at Isimba dam construction site, who declined to be named because she is not authorised to speak to the media, told Daily Monitor that each of the witchdoctors want to be paid Shs87 million to facilitate their relocation of spirits, shrines and other associated regalia.

“They even warned us that if this is not done before river flooding, the consequences would be very severe,” the source warned.
UEGCL on October 3, held a joint security meeting which it said was aimed at planning for the next project phase as it comes to a conclusion. After the meeting that was chaired by Mr Allan Kajik, the UEGCL administration manager, and attended by RDCs, DISOs, DPCs, and OC stations from Kamuli and Kayunga districts, the team visited Kirindi.

A post on UEGCL’s official website and Facebook pages stated that the team had resolved to compensate only those witchdoctors early on assessed.
Kamuli District authorities, however, say the witchdoctors, who are demanding to be compensated by government, illegally settled by the riverbanks and are, therefore, not eligible for pay.

Leaders speak out

Views. In an interview, Hajj Dunga Moses, the Kamuli District RDC, told Daily Monitor that the witchdoctors’ demands were invalid since they illegally settled there.
“[It is impossible] to give each of them Shs87m. They are illegally settled on the riverbanks. What we know as the district is that they don’t have practising certificates as herbalists and they never requested to operate on that land which we are aware is government land,” Dunga said.

Compensation. Mr Robert Kasande, the Permanent Secretary ministry of Energy said: “We shall engage the project consultant to revise the compensation documents before tabling to the chief government valuer, but only witchdoctors initially assessed shall have to be paid.”