UPDF Officer Maj. Rwasande implicated in Buliisa land wrangles
I tried to engage the RDC’s office to evict the farmers, but they refused
Buliisa: A senior Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer, Maj. Emmanuel Rwasande, has been accused of fueling land conflicts in Buliisa District by a group of local farmers.
The farmers, based in Kabolwa Village, Buliisa Sub-county, allege that the officer’s large-scale cattle operations are exacerbating an already tense land situation.
According to Ibrahim Nyakagufu, Chairperson of the Kabwolwa Agro-Environmental Protection Farmers’ Group, cattle from Northern Uganda and the West Nile region are being ferried into Buliisa, disrupting farming activities and leading to the destruction of crops.
“Some small-scale landowners are leasing their land to herdsmen with large numbers of cattle, which is worsening conflicts that began as far back as 2012,” Nyakagufu told this publication on Friday.
He specifically accused Maj. Rwasande of renting land from Milton Kato, a former Chief Administrative Officer of Masindi District, and bringing into the area over 15 Fuso trucks full of cattle.
“We are appealing for government intervention because our crops have been destroyed. We have nothing left to feed our families,” Nyakagufu said on behalf of the affected farmers.
Another farmer, Munkondo Nyakojo, said in a telephone interview that the community is facing a looming food crisis. “All our gardens have been destroyed by herds of cattle. We are staring at hunger, and there’s no help in sight,” he stressed.
In his defense, Maj. Rwasande stated that he lawfully rented the disputed land for seven years and claimed that it was unoccupied at the time.
He added that he sought assistance from the Office of the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) in Buliisa to remove encroaching farmers, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
“I rented the land before any of the current claimants occupied it. I tried to engage the RDC’s office to evict the farmers, but they refused,” Rwasande told this publication.
Anonymous sources in Buliisa confirmed that cattle keepers commonly known as the Balalo who were previously evicted from Northern Uganda and the West Nile are now returning in large numbers. Reports suggest they are quietly bringing their animals into Buliisa during the night and settling in areas such as Kabolwa, Bugana, Kijangi, and Ngwedo.
“These cattle are ferried at night, and their presence is growing across several villages,” a local source revealed.
It should be noted that in 2010, the government carried out evictions of Balalo herdsmen from Buliisa over similar concerns. However, their quiet return is raising fresh alarm among residents who rely on farming as their primary livelihood.
Local farmers are now urging government agencies, including the Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Agriculture, to intervene and resolve the escalating land disputes before they lead to further economic and social instability in the region.
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