Gulu residents fake graveyards to be compensated
He cited that the practice is common in Tegwana because some individuals connive with their area LC1 chairpersons in order to get the money.
By Christopher Nyeko
Gulu: Some family members and individuals in Gulu City are reportedly faking graveyards in order to claim the facilitation that is usually disbursed to the family with a graveyard during road opening.
The fund is to enable them to relocate their already-buried loved ones. The division normally gives about three hundred thousand shillings for each cemented graveyard and two hundred and fifty thousand shillings for non-cemented graveyards in respect of human dignity.
William Obalim, the area councillor four for Tegwana South Ward in Laroo-Pece Division, noted that since the division doesn’t have enough funds to compensate the affected people, many have resorted to faking graveyards in order to benefit from the program.
‘’The division doesn’t have enough funds to compensate the affected people when we are opening the community access road, but only facilitates the families with graveyards. Some families have now resorted to faking graveyards in order to get money,’’ he said.
Obalim revealed that the vice was unearthed during verification of the affected people while he was chairperson for work and technical service in the then Pece division council, but the vice is continuing up to date.
He cited that the practice is common in Tegwana because some individuals connive with their area LC1 chairpersons in order to get the money.
‘’Some honest area LC1 chairpersons have been refusing some of these uncultured practices because some of the claimants could not present efficient evidence,’’ he noted.
Geoffrey Otims, the mayor for Laroo-Pece division, told ugreports.co.ug that they are only facilitating families with graveyards due to financial constraints.
However, Rwot Kasimiro Ongom, the cultural chief of Patongo chiefdom in Agago district, described that vice as being uncultured, saying that people who untruthfully claim that they have lost their dear one are inviting bad omens into their family.
Kasimiro noted that if they received the money on false claims and did not perform any rituals, then those people should be considered conmen.
Tony Kitara, the senior counsel, says Article 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda stipulates that the government must compensate individuals before taking their land for public development. He thus questioned why local governments are saying they don’t have money to compensate the affected people.
Laroo-Pece Division Council is currently opening a number of community access roads in the annexed area following a high demand for road closures from the community.
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