Divided Buhweju District seeks to unite after decade of infighting

Newly elected Buhweju District leaders during the induction on May 14. ZADOCK AMANYISA

What you need to know:

  • Local leaders are now advocating for unity to foster development in the District. 

Since it split from the Greater Bushenyi District in 2010, Buhweju district has suffered an unending wave of conflicts resulting from religious and political divisions in which a cross section of leaders preached hatred and incited the population into divisions.

The district has experienced a decade of poor and limited levels of service delivery, impeding development in the hilly district.

It is against this background that the incoming district leadership has come together to gather the broken pieces and unite for development in the new term of office.

Speaking during the new leaders induction organized by Uganda Citizens Alliance on Friday at Rukararwe Partnership for Rural Development, Mr Francis Mwijukye, the Buhweju District Member of Parliament said: “Because of infighting, we have at times missed out on services like roads, schools.”

‘‘One time the President wanted to meet the district delegation, but they disagreed on who should go and the president ended up meeting a wrong group. At the end, those who were supposed to get these services did not get them,”Mr Mwijukye added.

The induction was aimed at equipping new leaders with leadership and management skills and making them understand local government and governance processes.

According to Mr Mwijukye, who is also a Commissioner of Parliament, new leadership must focus on unity and development.

“The people of Buhweju voted us to help them to get services, not to promote divisions. We must unite and work as a team for development if we want to liberate our district,” he said.

Mrs Oliver Katwesigye Koyekyenga is the newly elected district Woman Member of Parliament. She says a lot needs to be done to unite a divided district.

“In the just concluded term, Hon Mwijukye and I were members of the district natural resources committee, but we were never invited to attend any meeting because of the divisions. We were not even invited in the council as ex-officials. In such a situation, our people lost a lot because the more you fight, the more you delay services to the people,” she noted.

MPs Mwijukye(L) and Katwesigye and other newly elected leaders during the induction. PHOTO/ZADOCK AMANYISA

Newly elected district Chairperson, Mr Deo Atuhaire accused the past political leadership of promoting rivalry at different levels of leadership in the district at a time when the young district needed focused and united leaders.

He stressed need for the local council representatives to work with their members of parliament to prevent conflicts and creation of unnecessary power centers.

“In the past, civil servants in the district took advantage of the conflicting political wing and connived with top district officials to loot the district valuables like land. This must change as we all pledge to build a new force,” he told new leaders.