UPDF beef up deployment as elusive Balaalo hide away cows

The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) have detailed a set of hurdles that have made implementing the Balaalo herdsmen eviction complicated for a couple of weeks.

UPDF deputy spokesperson Col. Deo Akiiki admits that implementing the Presidential Directive to evict the Balaalo from Northern Uganda had become challenging following claims of bribery, blackmail and connivance that have rocked the exercise.

“Attempts of bribery have been coming up, we have discovered that there have been attempts to not only bribe members of the implementation committee, but also blackmail them so that they fail in their tasks, but we are warning them to stop,” Col. Akiiki said.

"We have had interferences here and there because all types of people from the smallest person to the biggest persons are here, interferences keep coming in, you have (those) big people calling our operations commander, RDCs and so on to make sure they are given grace period, but the grace period cannot be given by a commander or an RDC, it was already given by the President," he added.

On November 27, the government embarked on the eviction of all non-compliant herdsmen in the North who were not obeying the provisions of the executive order issued by President Museveni.

That directive Okayed the stay of herdsmen who fenced their land all around with four strands of barbed wire, and water sources inside the fenced kraals, among others.

It also prohibited grazing animals on the government land, accommodating only 250 head of cattle in 1 square mile of land and that herdsmen who leased or bought land, but were not complying with the guidelines would be evicted.

But Col. Akiiki said: “We found several fences on only one side and in some areas 2 strands and were cutting more trees in those areas to erect the fences. About the cows confiscated, we are giving their owners three days before they are auctioned.”

Elusive herdsmen

In the Acholi sub-region, security deployment has been intensified by the UPDF in the districts of Nwoya, Amuru and Gulu which shall be covered under the crackdown codenamed Operation Harmony.

“We have deployed heavily, our soldiers are moving around, we have deployed them to round up all those animals and they will be taken to the holding centres.”

However, Col. Akiiki noted that the herdsmen were engaging the Army in a hide-and-seek Ping-Pong that was sabotaging the progress of the exercise.

“The people looking after these cows (due to connivance) run away with the cows and we have to chase them until we get them. There is also failure to meet the standards, like the four strands of barbed wires, there are farms that are not meeting the standards and they are driving their cows into the neighbouring farms that meet such standards.”

He also added that several lawyers were coming up with criminal summons against the officers implementing the directive, with intentions to protect the Balaalo.

Since the launch of the operation, an operation was only successfully carried out in Awalaboro Village, Labworomor Parish, Palaro Sub County in Gulu District. 

Other operations were conducted later in Mede village, Palaro sub-county, Gulu district and corner Ader village, Oroko Parish, Palaro Sub County also in Gulu district.

Only five kraals out of the 94 to inspected by the implementation committee, were not compliant with the laid-out rules in the Executive Order and therefore a total of 540 livestock were confiscated.

Of this number, this publication has learnt that 416 head of cattle are at Gwot Afwoyo NAGRIC land while 124 head of cattle and 3 sheep are at Corner Ader Livestock Market.

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