Pakwach residents, govt clash over land

Members of Paten community in Ragem Sub-county have accused the government of grabbing their land. They say the government, since 2020, has been  expanding Wadelai Irrigation Scheme in the sub-county by allegedly taking over their land by force. 
 
With funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Ministry of Water and Environment commenced the establishment of Wadelai Irrigation Scheme in 2021.
 
The ministry carried out a feasibility study for the project in 2015 and 2016, then conducted sensitisation meetings with the would-be beneficiaries and project-affected persons from 2018 to 2010.
 
The project, which was supposed to have been completed in September 2021, required the community to offer about 1,000 acres of land for the scheme, and various procedures from community consent to the signing of land user agreements.
 
However, the community has sued the government, saying they have not been compensated for their land. Recently, some community members burnt an excavator at the project site. 

Legal battles and clashes between the community, government officials and  political leaders who support the project have contributed to the delayed completion of the project.

Concerns
Local leaders claim the communities of Ayavo and Paten consented and signed a land user agreement with the government to establish Wadelai Irrigation Scheme. They also said those who consented were fully compensated.
 
Members of the Paten Clan, however, insist no compensation has been made and that the government has extended the project to their land through forceful means.
 
Ms Sylvia Anichan, a resident of Adiri Village, which is hosting part of the irrigation infrastructure, said: “If they [the Ministry of Water and Environment] really compensated us, how come they bring soldiers to take our land by force?”
 
Mr Martin Opar, 89, an elder, said: “And we, the owners of the land, have refused to give our land for the project. In the 1950s, Chinese came up with a similar project and we rejected it. We want this project to be removed from us. Let us remain with our poverty.”
 
On October 11, 2021, the Paten Clan filed a complaint with the Independent Recourse Mechanism of the African Development Bank, citing human rights violations arising from the implementation of the project.
 
The project-affected persons highlighted the alleged forceful acquisition of communal land. They accused security personnel of assault and shooting some community members who resisted the takeover of the land.
 
Mr Denis Ovonji, a primary school teacher, said Paten Clan members raised their concerns regarding the extension of the project on its communal land.
 
He said the Paten Clan consented to offer 365 acres of land to the project. However, reportedly more than twice that amount –902 acres – was surveyed by the contractor, Coil Limited, for the project.
 
According to Mr Ovonji, the community raised their concerns with the project team, particularly that they had less land left for their own use.
 
The former Chief Administrative Officer of Pakwach, Ms Stella Abyeto, said the Paten-Adiri land was identified as part of the scheme area. This, she said, followed the exclusion of Ragem Prisons land from the initial project design so that the community benefits directly.
 
Mr Ovonji said: “So, we noticed that there was inconsistency in the information that we have been given. They would tell us the project needs 400 acres. But they are also saying the whole project needs 1,000 acres. So, we got confused.”
 
However, their concerns were not addressed, and the Paten Clan sought the support of Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organisation (BIRUDO) to resolve the impasse.
 
Mr Robert Steen Omito, the Pakwach District chairman, said his administration decided to stop the work of BIRUDO, a non-government organisation, for allegedly fueling the confusion, adding that the project was resisted by a community that was already divided by a number of issues.
 
“Those people had internal wrangles. So locals were not happy about the project. Some were saying if big projects come, some clan leaders and their children who are educated would benefit more. So, they had some kind of jealousy among themselves,” he said.
 
However, Mr Ovonji rejected Mr Omito’s explanation. 
 
“In August 2021, we saw heavy deployment of security and opening of the land boundary. Indeed, the exercise was totally militarised, and the community members who went protesting were beaten, they were teargassed, fired at with rubber bullets,”he said.

Mr Ovoji, who is also the son of the bedridden Paten Clan chief  Santonino Onen Daudi, said the community thereafter, through the clan chief, wrote to the district leadership to address the matter amicably.
 
“The letter was circulated to all district leaders but nothing tangible came afterward. All these were reasons that prompted the community to file a civil suit at the High Court in Arua City,” Mr Ovonji said.
 
“On September 30, 2021, the first hearing of the case started, and in December 2021, all the sides to the conflict made their submissions and we are now waiting for the court to pass a verdict,” he added.
 
Mr Alfred Okidi Okot, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Water and Environment, said during a meeting in Paten on May 10, 2021, Mr Ovonji and Mr Franco Opio (parish chief, Wadelai Sub-county) mobilised youth against the project.
 
In his May 17, 2021 letter, Mr Okot expressed his disappointment that the two public servants allegedly violated the Public Service Standing Orders with an intention to undermine government efforts to implement the project, which needed 368 acres of land from the Paten community.
 
On Sunday, Mr Paul Eseru, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Pakwach, told Daily Monitor that the matter has since been addressed. 
 
“A team from African Development Bank, Ministry of Water came and those people were taken to Gulu [on July 11], all their grievances were addressed and they signed the cooperation agreement,” he said.
 
But Mr Ovonji claimed the people who were “carefully selected” and taken to Gulu are those who are not in any way affected by the project.
 
He said the issue is still before the High Court in Arua District, pending Justice Issa Sserunkuma’s verdict. The case, under miscellaneous cause number 004 of 2021, was filed by him and his father (Paten Clan chief Daudi Onen) against the contractor – Coil Company Limited; Pakwach District local government, and the Attorney General.

About the project

The Wadelai Irrigation Scheme is one of the four irrigation schemes under the African Development Banks’ Farm Income Enhancement and Forestry Conservation Project (FIEFOC-2).

The project intends to improve household incomes, food security, and climate resilience through sustainable natural resources management and agricultural enterprise development in the five districts of Nebbi, Oyam, Butaleja, Kween and Kasese.
 
The overall cost of this project is approximately $ 91.7 million (Shs342 billion), financed by the African Development Bank ($ 76.7 million), the Nordic Development Fund ($5.9 million) and the Government of Uganda ($9.1 million).
 
The irrigation schemes intend to benefit 31,000 households while the natural resource management component will reportedly impact 300,000 households, primarily farmers cultivating rice, cotton and horticultural crops. The agribusiness component purports to create about 1,000 alternative livelihood opportunities and equip 1,400 people with business skills through training.

What some players say...
Ms Sylvia Anichan, a resident of Adiri Village
If they [the Ministry of Water and Environment] really compensated us, how come they bring soldiers to take our land by force?

Mr Robert Steen Omito, Pakwach LC5 chairman
Some locals were not happy about the project. Some were saying if big projects come, some clan leaders and their children who are educated would benefit more.

Mr Denis Ovonji, Paten clan chief’s son
In August 2021...the exercise was totally militarised, and the community members who went protesting were beaten, they were teargassed, fired at with rubber bullets.

Ms Stella Abyeto, former Packwach CAO 
The quest for land has been largely rejected by the Paten community and Mr Ovonji has been mobilising the community to frustrate the government project.

Paul Eseru, Resident District Commissioner of Packwach
A team from African Development Bank, Ministry of Water came and those people were taken to Gulu [on July 11], all their grievances were addressedand they signed the... agreement.