Residents turn Koboko airfield into farmland

Residents of Koboko District have turned Arumaji airfield into a settlement, grazing and gardening area after it was abandoned by the government.

A stroll through the Arumaji airfield on Monday painted a grim picture of how heavily the airfield has been encroached on, with houses built on part of the runway, animals freely grazing, bricks laid for sale, and gardening work going on.

According to 77-year-old Paul Aloro, the airfield has been rendered idle for more than 30 years.

Aloro, who worked as a pilot from 1970 to 1979, said the airfield was established during the Idi Amin regime to link Uganda to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan via Koboko District.

“It has now been more than 30 years and I have not seen planes landing here. This airfield could still be useful because there is a lot of business now between Uganda, Congo and South Sudan. This could supplement the Arua airfield once it is maintained and marketed,” he said.

Mr John Candiga, who has lived around the airfield since 2009, said he is seeking alternative land or compensation from anyone planning to evict them from the area.

“I came here in 2009 and the landlord from whom I got this land is now dead. But he advised me to leave 25 metres as a reserve from the runway but in 2017, some people came here and told us to leave 100 metres from the runway, which was different from what the landlord told us,” he said.

He added: “Unless we are shown another land or compensated as occupants around the airport, we shall not move anywhere.”

During Amin’s regime, he established some airfields across the West Nile Sub-region due to the booming trade with neighbouring countries of South Sudan and DR Congo.

The Koboko District chairperson, Mr Ashraf Mambo, blamed the government for not doing enough to secure the facility.

“The airfield has been extremely encroached on  by the people around the area. If a place is idle and no activity is taking place, what do you expect? And that is why people are laying bricks and doing other things there,” he said.

“Absolutely government is not taking care of its own property. So I think Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) should come and guard their property.” But the UCAA upcountry airport manager, Mr Samuel Wonekha, told Daily Monitor that they will hold the district leadership accountable in case of mismanagement of the airport, as the mandate to secure and maintain the facility remains their responsibility.

“That airport is supposed to be looked after by the district administration of Koboko. They are the caretaker of the facility. We still have plans of developing it. So the district land board and other officials in the district are supposed to ensure that the airport is fully secured,” he said.

Background

As of now the active airport, under UCAA management in West Nile sub-region is Arua that is being upgraded to international standards. Other airfields such as Koch in Nebbi are being managed by the district leadership. But most of them have been idle and are only used for emergency landings. Many of the runways are disappearing due to the encroaching bushes.

[email protected]