By URN
More than 1,000 families who were evicted from their ancestral land in Kasonga Parish, Kyangwali Sub-County are facing difficult health conditions in internally displaced persons’ camp IDP in Kikuube town Council, Kikuube district.
The victims mainly women and children were evicted from Bukinda A and B, Bukinda 2, Kavule, Bwizibwera A and B, Kyeya A and B, Nyaruhanga, Kabirizi, Nyamigisa A and B, and Katoma villages among others in Kasonga parish, Kyangwali sub-county.
The residents are feuding with the Kyangwali Refugee settlement over 36 square kilometres of land. Â In September 2013, OPM officials backed by the police and UPDF evicted more than 60,000 people from the contested land for refugee settlement. The residents were forced to settle in camps in Kyeya village in Kyangwali sub-county under very poor conditions where they have stayed to date.
In 2016 and 2018, President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni ordered the evicted residents to be resettled on their ancestral land but to date, the concerned officials are yet to implement the directive.
This prompted the residents to pitch camp at the RDC’s office seeking his intervention to enforce the president’s directive to resettle them back on their ancestral land.
The OPM during the eviction claimed that they wanted to expand the settlement from 50 square miles to 70 square miles due to the increased population of the refugees from neighboring countries.
The residents after the eviction pitched camp at Kyangwali Sub-County headquarters and also petitioned the former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi who directed them to go back to their respective pieces of land but the directive was not honored.
In 2014 the Masindi High Court Judge Justice Simon Byabakama ordered for boundary opening of the said land but the order was not honored.
In 2016 President Museveni instructed the then Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda to resettle, compensate and punish the people who were evicted which were not considered.
In February 2022, the evictees pitched camp at the office of the Resident District Commissioner Kikuube protesting against the government’s prolonged delays in resettling them on their ancestral land.
However, in July 2023, the evictees vacated the RDC’s office and went to settle on a plot of land donated to them by Florence Natumanya, the Kikuube Woman Member of parliament. The land is located in the Butyamba cell in Kikuube town council.
The residents currently live in constant fear of a potential disease outbreak due to poor sanitation and hygiene conditions since they do not have access to appropriate medical facilities.
Jackline Nyamaizi a resident settling in the IDP camp says she has severally suffered from different ailments such as diarrhoea, malaria and cholera resulting from the poor health conditions.
Ahumuza Businge also a victim in the camp states that, they do not have access to clean drinking water and that they share only available water sources in place with wild animals which puts their lives at risk.
John Kakiga one of the evictees explains that they do not have access to health facilities and the nearby health facility is Kikuube Health Center IV which is situated far away from their camp.
Fred Mbambali, camp Chairperson explains that the health condition at the camp is very poor and appalling with limited latrines and other health necessities.
He says this condition poses a risk to many in the camp to contract diseases such as cholera and others.
He explains that the evictees depend on well-wishers for food while struggling to access medical care, as the nearest health facility, Kikuube Health Centre IV, is three miles away.
Joselyne Kobusingye also a victim states that they do not have enough pit latrines, no garbage dumping site, but only have two bathrooms being shared by both males and females.
Rosemary Nakibuuka, another evicted resident stated that as women they have been infected with STIs being caused by poor hygiene since they are being compelled to share bathrooms with men.
Nestori Tumwesigye the Kyangwali Sub-County LCV Councilor says that the evictees have gone through untold suffering stating that despite several pleas to the government to have them (evictees) returned to their land, the government has kept a deaf ear.
He says that they have done everything within their power to facilitate the resettlement of the evictees but have been let down by the government.
Vincent Alpha Opio, the Kikuube LCV Vice Chairperson explains that the health status of evictees in the camp is not appropriate elaborating that as a district recently they came up with a resolution that the government acquires a piece of land to resettle the evictees and allocate them appropriate health services.
Charles Bafaki, the Principal Resettlement Officer in the Office of the Prime Minister-OPM claims that about 10,000 families that are part of the evictees have been resettled by OPM in Kyeeya Village Kyangwali Sub-County, a claim the evictees and leaders in the area have refuted.
In 2022, Hillary Onek, the Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Refugees, told URN that the land belongs to the government, which acquired it genuinely.
In October 2021, Prime Minister Nabbanja halted all the activities by officials from her office on the contested land.
The Prime Minister issued the directive after discovering that some officials from the OPM and Kyangwali refugee settlement had connived to erect structures for refugees on the contested land and planted crops like beans, maize, cassava, bananas, and groundnuts among others.
She said this could have been a move by some OPM and Kyangwali refugee settlement area officials to fraudulently grab the land from the community members neighbouring the settlement.
Nabbanja then ordered the Minister for disaster preparedness, the Commandant of Kyangwali Refugee settlement area, Kikuube District Police commander-DPC, and the Resident District Commissioner-RDC to ensure that no more activity takes place on the contested land until investigations into the wrangles are completed.
