Amur-Adjumani district mark stones, Sign post vandalized

Barely two days after officials from Adjumani district erected a metallic sign post and planted mark stones at the contentious 40 Sq Km land in Apaa Parish Paboo Sub-county Amuru district; unknown persons have cut and stolen the property.
Last week, the government finalized the demarcation exercise where mark stones were planted to separate boundaries between the two districts that have over the years been claiming its ownership while Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA) claims it’s a game reserve.
The demarcation exercise has been part of a long battle since 2007 in which the government wanted to demarcate the land and recognize it as Adjumani district after several failed attempts.
In April this year, government halted the demarcation exercise after aggrieved elderly mothers stripped naked before then Internal Affairs Minister, late Gen Aronda Nyakairima and Lands Minister Daudi Migereko.
The acting District Police Commander Adjumani, Mr Gabriel Vuuko, told Acholi Times that unknown persons used a hacksaw to cut off the sign post that was erected on Thursday before carrying it away to an unknown location.
Mr Vuuko noted that despite police being planted there to protect the sign post, they were surprised to find that the sign post and other mark stones planted were uprooted over the weekend.
“The sign post that reads ‘welcome to Adjumani district, we wish you a safe journey’ was erected just at the border between the two districts in Apaa parish on Tuesday, however when we checked for it on Sunday morning it was missing,” says Mr Vuuko.
He added that the act was unlawful considering the fact that the sign post was erected for Administration purposes, to separate the two districts.
“In any case the residents feel they were deprived of their rights, they should find other mechanism of addressing their problems but not to vandalizing properties that belongs to Adjumani district,” He said.
The area LCI Apaa, Mr Abola Mauriang dismissed claims that locals in his area could be behind the stealing of the sign posts and some of the mark stones.
He said majority of the residents had been in hiding and the police had been heavily deployed in the area to man the mark stones and the erected sign post.
Mr Gilbert Olanya, the Kilak County MP, while addressing locals at Apaa trading center, just a day after his release from police cells urged the locals to desist from any act of vandalism of any of the properties government erected in the area.
“The mark stones and sign post erected should not worry you, the hands that planted them will be the same hand to uproot them because this is our land and no one shall take it
away,” says Mr Olanya.
Two weeks ago, on a Monday, Police intercepted and Arrested Mr Olanya at Parabongo Parish in Lamogi sub-county, as he headed to Paboo trading center where residents were protesting heavy security deployment in Apaa parsish. He was charged with inciting and threatening violence however on Friday, the Amuru Grade one Magistrate Edward Okot granted him a cash bail of Shs 1.5 million.