Sebei minority group continues to cry foul

“[The] government has either knowingly or unknowingly left us to suffer,” he says, adding that UWA has superintended over “the destruction of our houses and food crops, arrests and confiscation of livestock.”

The disputed land in question straddles several areas like Benet, Kupiswa, Mosowo, Kwoti, and Yatui.

The final nail, as per Mr Joseph Chepsikor—an elder—came on April 25, when UWA evicted the entire indigenous Mosopisyek of Benet community.
“We are spending nights in the cold during this rainy season,” Mr Chepsikor says.

Mr Denis Cherop, the chairperson of Kaseko Sub-county in Kween District, says the affected people “are the indigenous inhabitants of Mt Elgon; not encroachers.”

“We practiced pastoralism, and would gather honey, medicinal plants, and make use of pasture for our animals on our mountain,” he reveals, adding that the government should gazette the boundary between the national park and the community.

Mr David Chemongesi, a Benet, says their nightmare started in 1990 when the villages of Arukut and Sabu were razed to the ground. The evictions would find another gear in 2008.

The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), in a report titled “The Indigenous World 2021”, shows that in October 2020, the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that granted the Benet people regulated access to various resources within the park. These included cultural sites and cattle grazing areas.

“They have continued assaulting indigenous people who enter the park, refusing access to cultural sites, and detaining cattle grazing in the park’s moorlands,” Mr Chemonges says of the government not honouring the MoU.

Mr Moses Chebengat, a resident, says that five people have been fatally shot in the past decade. He also accuses UWA rangers of extortion of hefty fines “when our people are found within the park boundary.”

The marginalised Benet have no access to social services such as public schools or health centres. They also toil—often unsuccessfully—to maintain a navigable road network.

“When it rains, children face a lot of difficulty in accessing education. The nearest schools are located at least 20km away from their homes,” Mr Taison Kapungus, a resident of Kortow, says.

For Mr David Chemutai, the coordinator of the Benet-Mosop Community Association, the problems can trace their roots back to colonialism. Mr Chemutai says his forefathers lived peacefully in the forested higher altitude zone of Mt Elgon before “the British colonialists drew boundaries separating what is now known as Kenya and Uganda.”

He adds: “The Benet were dwelling in the caves that dot this dormant volcanic mountain. This is where most of their ancestors are buried.”

Mr Fred Chesang, who wears the hat of Sipi regional police spokesperson, says the conflict pitting local communities against UWA has left a number of people “injured.” He further reveals that the police has “sent the file cases to the RSA [or resident state attorney] for legal advice.” 

In 2008, the government evicted about 178 indigenous Benet families from Mt Elgon national park. Since then, the Benet community has lived in temporary resettlement camps where they are not permitted to build permanent structures.

Mr Fred Kiiza, the Mt Elgon Conservation Area manager, is quick to reduce such claims to “false allegations [intended] to attract sympathy.” 

“If there is someone from UWA who raped a woman, let them report the case to police. UWA is not above the law,” he responds to claims by Ms Violet Chemutai that women who head to the forest inside the park to collect firewood are sexually molested.

UWA also stands accused of impounding 71 heads of cattle and 120 goats. The Benet-Mosop Community Association, whose people have lived in the contested area for 500 years, also claims a half a dozen people are being illegally detained by UWA. 

“Last week, that issue of the Benet community was in Parliament and the prime minister issued a letter stopping UWA from evicting the affected community. UWA came to evict people without involving the leaders and people were not sensitised,” Ms Hope Atuhaire, the Kween Resident District Commissioner, says.

Mr Bashir Hangi, the communications manager at UWA, says they started eviction of all people who encroached in the gazette park.

“It’s not possible that UWA can evict people from their own land. We are evicting people who encroached on the gazetted park, not only in Mbale but in all gazetted national parks in the country,” Mr Hangi says.