Who is telling the truth about Otuke land?

A vehicle wades through a muddy road that connects to a site proposed for the establishment of a modern ranch at Atira Parish. Photos by bill oketch.

What you need to know:

Land in the Lango sub-region district is under contention with different factions trying to claim its ownership.

Otuke

Since 2012, the government, the Opposition and Otuke District residents have been caught up in what has been termed as an Otuke-land-conundrum!

On one side are the ruling NRM supporters who are proponents of a modern ranch project, while on the other side are opponents of government who have termed the project as a ploy by government to grab land. Of course in the middle are local leaders, whose decision is critical to the project, and the community of Atira Parish, Olilim Sub-county, which is meant to benefit from the project.

As the flexing of the political, legal and moral muscles ensues, the resultant tension has led to loss of lives and delay of project implementation. Both sides on the contested land give-away want the world to believe their version as the un-adulterated truth.

NRM supporters claim the contested area is unoccupied public land and hence falls under the control of the government while the opposing group insists the community holds the land in customary ownership.

Genesis
On December 9, 2011, a delegation from Otuke met President Museveni at his upcountry presidential lodge at Baralegi in Orum Sub-county. They discussed vital developmental issues such as the need to restock the community that lost livestock during the two decades rebellion of the LRA rebels.

Mr Museveni reportedly told the delegates that he could not give animals to each household, asking them to go back and identify free land that government would develop into a modern ranch. If that was done, the animals would upon multiplication be distributed to the population.

Consequently, the area Woman MP, Ms Annet Nyakecho Okwenye, in “consultation with the district leadership” allegedly wrote a letter to the President, informing him that there exists free land in Atira suitable for establishing a ranch.

On May 16, 2012, the matter was tabled on the floor of Parliament, inviting members of the Lango Parliamentary Group to pick keen interest in following it to its logical conclusion.
And on July 14, 2012, the legislators visited Atira, to seek people’s views on the alleged giving away of about 300 hectares of land.

At this point, Atek Okwerowee clan, one of the clans living adjacent to the contested territory, and others opposed to the project, felt the legislators were supporting them, thus building up tension.
The anti-ranch project alleged the area Woman MP invited the President to acquire “their land” without consulting them, thus sparking off chaos.

It was in the fracas that the deputy clan chief of Atek Okwerowee clan, Alfred Oluge, was allegedly hit several times in the head. Oluge later died from Olilim Health Centre III where he was taken for treatment. Several people also sustained injuries in the incident.

The North Kyoga regional police commander, Mr Richard Aruk Maruk, said the tension was built up soon after the locals were misinformed that the government wanted to grab their land.

Mr Aruk Maruk says life was lost for no genuine cause since the contested land was vacant, uncultivated and unoccupied. “There is no claimant whatsoever to that piece of land,” the regional police commander told the Daily Monitor in Lira Town on Friday, referring to the territory as a no-man’s land.

Local leaders speak out
A visit to Otuke, you meet leaders who are both expectant and puzzled about the project. Ms Christine Elong, the district information officer, believes the confusion on the land has been laid to rest.
“Doubts people had that the President is coming to grab their land has been cleared. People have now understood the land is not theirs, it’s a government or public land and that the project has been initiated in good faith,” Ms Elong says.

Mr Benson Ogwang Ogoo, the district chairman, claims the ranch project has delayed to kick off because the Opposition group in Lango is using the issue of land as a weapon to promote their political interest.
“Initially, when this project started, there are people who saw it as a serious political danger to them, they saw it as a weapon that will completely kill them politically, wipe them politically,” he says.
The district chairman further alleges that some people wanted to benefit and get rich out of the land that is meant to benefit the residents of Otuke.

Whichever way the project goes, what it has exposed is that the people of Otuke have remained dedicated despite all the challenges they have undergone. They have demonstrated that they want development in the district. For instance, during the conflict for Atira land, nobody from Otuke phoned in to radio to talk about it. Instead, people from the neighbouring districts took interest.