Tensions are escalating in Laguti Sub County, Pader district, due to a government decision to allocate more than 12 square miles of land to NRM former Members of Parliament.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC & DB), and Uganda Land Commission are facilitating the allocation, with the aim of supporting the former legislators’ livelihoods through commercial agriculture.
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The beneficiaries are former Members of Parliament affiliated with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, operating under their umbrella Gravity Grain Farmers, based in Kampala City.
Their plan is to invest in grain production in Laguti Sub County, with Engineer Yorokamu Katwiremu Bategana, a former Sheema County South Member of Parliament, leading the group.
However, the allocation has stirred a dispute over the ownership of the land, with community members claiming it as their own, while the government asserts it is part of the Aswa Ranch, used for agriculture and food security by NAGRC and Uganda Prisons Services.
Last week, accompanied by Pader security officials, the former MPs inspected the land in Lakalanganya Village, Tumalyec Parish, Laguti Sub County, Pader district.
In response to the growing concerns, a meeting was held two weeks ago involving the Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Lt. Col (Rtd) Bright Rwamirama, and the Executive Director for NAGRC, to discuss the leasehold agreement for grain production with the government.
Eng. Yorokamu confirmed the meeting in a phone interview, stating that the Uganda Land Commission would conduct a survey to determine the true ownership of the land, which faced resistance from the community members.
Robert Okumu, the Laguti Sub County LC III Chairperson, expressed concern over the government’s intentions, suspecting a land grab from the community.
He questioned the deployment of soldiers and inspections without involving local leaders or informing community members.
In response to the community’s discontent, they petitioned Bosco Odoch Olak, the Presidential Coordinator for the Northern Region, seeking the President’s intervention.
Odoch assured the residents that a survey team would be sent to resolve the boundary conflict, and security measures would be strengthened.
Samuel Odonga Otto, the former Aruu County legislator and lawyer, urged the government to respect the law and adhere to the agreements made during the land’s initial allocation in the 1980s.
