By Frank Kamuntu
President Yoweri Museveni has again ordered nomadic pastoralists, often referred to as Balaalo, to leave northern Uganda if they cannot abide by the law.
“Those who have got cows in non-fenced areas must go immediately because this is recklessness. Why should you bring cows in an area where you have no control,” Museveni said Friday.
The president spent the afternoon in Amuru district with leaders from the Acholi sub-region discussing the issue of the nomadic pastoralists.
”I directed the UPDF Division Commander, RPC and the Minister for Northern Uganda to ensure that anybody with cows in an unfenced area in the Acholi, Lango and West Nile sub-regions to leave immediately but in any case not later than 3 weeks from today,” he said.
He also ordered that anybody occupying government land (Aswa ranch, Lakang, land acquired for the Madvhani group, etc.) must leave with immediate effect but in any case not later than 3 weeks.
The eviction order comes five months after the president issued Executive Order Number 3 of 2023, directing that the pastoralists vacate these areas for failing to operate in an orderly manner that would prevent their animals from destroying people’s crops.
According to Executive Order Number 3 of 2023, every pastoralist is expected to have a fenced land with a water source within, to prevent the animals from straying and trampling others’ crops.
A mini-survey to establish the number of nomadic pastoralists in Acholi following the Executive Order registered at least 217 non-compliant pastoralists in the Acholi Sub-region alone.
The Survey was done between June to September by an inter-ministerial technical committee led by Prof. Jack Nyeko Pen Mogi, the chairperson of the Uganda Land Commission, and deputized by Anthony Akol to ascertain the different aspects of the issues contained in the Executive Order.
During the survey, it was also found that some pastoralists are grazing cattle on government land or ranches. Some of the ranches are Aswa in Acholi and Maruzi Lango. Museveni also ordered that those grazing animals on the government land leave within the specified period.
“I give them three weeks to hire trucks and take their cows to wherever they take them. I would have confiscated the cows themselves, but let them take their cows, sell them, and do whatever they want to do,” the President said.
“Whether you bought or rented, we shall handle that later because here, we are not handling the issue of ownership or renting contracts. You have no right to destroy my crops and that is why I have already asked the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General to draft a law criminalizing this type of nomadism,” Museveni clarified.
The Minister for Northern Uganda Grace Freedom Kwiyocwiny earlier said during their consultations on the executive order, and their interaction with the community, some groups said they wanted the pastoralists to be immediately evicted, while others said the eviction should be done gradually.
However, Museveni said he would have the last meeting on the divergent views as well as those who have fenced their land, before the matter is concluded.
“If there are people who have properly fenced their land, those can wait until we discuss it in more detail,” he said. “We shall discuss how to handle the issue of ownership and renting. That’s the second issue because you hear these people saying this land is ours. The cultural leader is saying that it is for the Clan.”
Kwiyocwiny said the rate of land sale in Acholi has increased because of the high poverty level and the desire to transition into the money economy.
She argued that the land sales have been accompanied by high conflicts, which calls for the setting up of a tribunal to settle such conflicts.
Rwot Santo Apire, the chief of the Atiak, said the locals who sold land to the pastoralists were ignorant of the fact that customary land can’t be sold.
“Therefore, the titles acquired on customary land should be cancelled,” Apire said.
A recent report by the inter-ministerial technical committee formed to investigate issues of the executive order found that there are 899 cattle farms in northern Uganda.
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