Report calls for relocation of Elgon park encroachers
Defiant. Residents slash in a piece of land they claim was encroached on by Mt Elgon National Park in Mbale District in 2016. PHOTO BY FRED WAMBEDE
What you need to know:
- Coverage. Mt Elgon Park is 1,121 square kilometres in size and covers Bukwo, Kween, Kapchorwa, Bududa, Manafwa, Namisidwa, Bulambuli, Mbale and Sironko districts. It was gazzetted in 1993.
Mbale. The government should expedite the resettlement of families that are temporarily living in Mt Elgon National Park to prevent further encroachment, a new report has recommended.
The families in the park include the Benet and Kisito communities in Kween District, Amanang and Kapsegek in Bukwo District and 48 families in Zesui, Sironko District.
The report, which was compiled by the Lands ministry following the reopening of the boundaries, also reveals that the community has encroached on more than 6,746 hectares of park land, while the Uganda Wildlife Authority has also encroached on about 2,000 hectares of land belonging to the community.
The exercise to reopen the park boundaries lasted four months (between June and December last year) on the orders of President Museveni following the persistent boundary conflicts.
The leaders had for long demanded the release of the report to establish the actual boundaries of the national park and the population at risk of eviction.
Only solution
Mr John Kitaka, the principal cartographer in the ministry of Lands, explained that compensating and resettling of families is the only lasting solution to the persistent conflicts between the communities and UWA.
He made the remarks at the weekend while presenting the report to district leaders in Bugisu Sub-region. Mr Kitaka recommended that the community land that UWA had encroached on should be taken over by local governments.
The Mt Elgon conservation area manager, Mr Fred Kizza, said the government should act fast on the recommendations before more families encroach on the park.
“The government should be fast in implementing the recommendations in the report because the more we delay, the more the park land will be encroached on,” he said. The Namisindwa District Woman MP, Ms Grace Namukhura, said the affected families should be resettled within their respective districts instead of being moved to far away areas. State minister for Housing Chris Baryomunsi said the government will base on the report to take the final decision.
“I am happy that the [boundary opening] exercise was peaceful unlike the previous ones where residents complained that government was using a lot of force,” he said.
“We will make sure the local leadership and residents are involved in decision making so that decisions are not made in Kampala,” the minister added.
Coverage. Mt Elgon Park is 1,121 square kilometres in size and covers Bukwo, Kween, Kapchorwa, Bududa, Manafwa, Namisidwa, Bulambuli, Mbale and Sironko districts. It was gazzetted in 1993.
