Museveni, Saleh differ on Balaalo eviction in Acholi

Speaking to this publication on Monday, Mr Anthony Akol, the Acholi Parliamentary Group chairperson, said: “We are going on the ground to mobilise our people in the different places in the region to make sure that we give them feedback, there have been a lot of changes from the original report that I participated in.” 

“As MPs from the region, our position is that the eviction must start, the Executive Order must stand and it must start working now. We are disappointed because the reasons are not clear. Claims that the President has not yet read the report is a cheap excuse,” Mr Akol said. 

However, Mr PP. Okin Ojara, the Chwa West MP, said: “We want to disassociate ourselves from that kind of extension because it is done in bad faith, it is done to continue giving time for manipulation to happen, this what the extension means and we are not agreeing to it.”

On Sunday, President Museveni extended the implementation of Executive Order 3. 2023 on Balaalo eviction by another 20 days. 

Ms Grace Freedom Kwiyocwiny, the State Minister for Northern Uganda, said she had received a written communication from the head of State declaring the extension until October 20.

Ms Kwiyocwiny explained that Mr Museveni extended the implementation of the Order to give him time to study new reports about the operations of the Balaalo herdsmen. 

According to her, an Inter-Ministerial Team is developing modalities and processes for implementation of the Executive Order.  

“All stakeholders will be involved. During the initial extension, a lot of consultation was done to understand the implications for the execution of the Executive Order and a clear consensus has been attained,” she said. 

Verification exercise

The Daily Monitor has established that the implementation team is now planning for the execution of the Executive Order that will involve registration and verification of the herdsmen across northern Uganda, including their location, their families, and several cattle. 

“The plan will also include movement plans for those to be evicted, including designating holding areas to curb disease outbreaks, and legal implications on a case-by-case basis. We, therefore, appeal for calm. No one should take the law into their own hands,” Ms Kwiyocwiny said.

“The government through its structures is in charge of the implementation of the Executive Order 3. 2023 and ensuring that it is done in a sustainable, efficient, effective, peaceful and harmonious way and this exercise is code-named ‘Operation Harmony’,” she added.
 
Mix-up

Meanwhile, Gen Saleh, the Senior Presidential Adviser on Defence, who is also Mr Museveni’s brother, said the Executive Order to evict the Balaalo herdsmen from the north has been based on deficient information.

In explaining why the implementation of the Order could likely hit a dead end, Gen Saleh said the government was not prepared and lacked the necessary structures to conduct the eviction. 

“In this situation, the Executive Order of the President is going to be implemented but how? When, and by whom, is the problem? Have you trained the UPDF in cattle eviction? Have we trained the police in cattle eviction?” Gen Saleh wondered. 

He also disagreed with the President’s position against the model of land ownership in the Acholi stating that the lands on which the Balaalo herdsmen are settled, are titled and belong to big individuals in the government, including him and his family. 

“The President gave the Order not knowing that people have titled land and transacted on that land willingly without disputes. It seems you don’t even know the people who are occupying land there, these are not Balaalo, these are big shots (in the government) as land owners,” he said.

Gen Saleh made the remarks during a meeting convened by the Office of the Prime Minister and Operation Wealth Creation to engage leaders from all the sub-regions of northern Uganda at the weekend.  

The leaders, who included ministers’, MPs, LC5 chairpersons, RDCs and cultural leaders disagreed with Gen Saleh’s demands that the government be given more time before it can evict the herdsmen.

In Executive Order 3 issued on May 19, Mr Museveni banned all Balaalo from Northern Uganda, labelling them as indiscipline. 

In the Order, the President also sought to criminalise nomadism, prescribing a seven-year prison sentence for anyone convicted and the cattle of those found in the north would be confiscated. 

“I, therefore, direct all government agencies to ensure that these Balaalo are expelled by the end of June 2023,” he wrote.

However, on July 2, Mr Museveni deferred the enforcement of the expulsion of the Balaalo herdsmen from Northern Uganda. 

In his July 2 letter to Gen Saleh, he said: “…as we agreed on the phone and as I communicated through my radio message DTG 011550C July 23, I hereby extend the deadline of the Executive Order to September 30, 2023.”

Documentation

Mr Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, the Gulu West MP, said the UPDF 4th Division army command confirmed that 217 herdsmen had been documented to have not followed any procedure while bringing their animals into the region. 

“They have to be evicted, through his [Museveni] goodwill, Gen Saleh should support the security to effect that decision,’’ Mr Ojara said. 

Ms Santa Okot, the Aruu North County MP, wondered why Gen Saleh and the Office of the Prime Minister were interested in securing more land for the Balaalo.
 
“The Executive Order has been given for Northern Uganda and not only the Acholi Sub-region. We wonder why the same troubles are not seen in Lango, West Nile, and Teso sub-regions,”  he said. 

Balaalo numbers

The number of Balaalo pastoralists and the population of their animals currently spread across the northern region has been increasing. But Lamwo is currently the district with the highest influx of pastoralists at more than 
1,500, with their cattle projected to be at least 35,000.  Lamwo is followed by Amuru and Kitgum districts. Areas occupied by the herdsmen in Amuru District include Okidi, Atiak, Palukere, in Atiak Sub-county, as well as Bombay, Kololo and Bana, among other areas in Opara Sub-county.