A heated verbal exchange and scuffle ensued Tuesday afternoon after anti- riot police briefly blocked a group of Acholi leaders from accessing Aswa ranch in Angagura Sub County in Pader district.
The leaders comprised of the Aruu North Member of Parliament in Pader district and the Chairpersons of Amuru, Nwoya and Kitgum districts. The leaders said they were on a fact-finding mission on what is happening at Aswa ranch.
The leaders’ visit follows reports that unknown individuals guarded by Uganda Peoples Defense Forces [UPDF] soldiers had invaded the government ranch and where rearing thousands of heads of cattle.
The ‘‘fact –finding’’ mission was halted for about 40 minutes at Oboko Olot village, about four kilometers to Aswa ranch that covers a total of 63,000 acres of land. The ranch is guarded by heavily armed police officers.
Aswa Regional Police Commander Mr Bosco Otim, who commanded the operation, told the leaders that the visitation was abrupt and unknown to the ranch Administrators but after a heated negotiation, the police commander allowed the leaders in the ranch.
According to Ms Lucy Achiro, the Aruu North Member of Parliament, their visit was to ascertain what was happening at the ranch after years of rumors surrounding the operation of the ranch
“Our district leaders have been left out on what was happening at the ranch or the people managing the ranch yet it’s in our district. Our locals have occasionally reported seeing heavy trucks entering the ranch with animals and today we came to find out the truth,” Ms Achiro said in an interview on Tuesday.
Achiro alleged that soldiers guarding the ranch have been harassing locals whose farmlands neighbor the ranch adding that sometimes if their animals cross into the ranch, they are not allowed to claim for it.
Mr Clement Nuwamanya, the Ranch manager who was put on pressure to explain what was happening in the ranch revealed that the farm belongs to the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) under the Ministry of Agriculture animal Industry and Fisheries.
Mr Nuwamanya said part of the ranch is also being occupied by Uganda Livestock Industry.
He explained that the ranch began operation in October 2014 with the restocking of 1,030 Brahma and Ankole breed of cattle adding that to date the numbers have multiplied to 1,446 cattle.
“This ranch was set up to breed and multiply high quality animals. At this ranch we use artificial insemination to cross breed the cows and in the near future, these animals will be in the local markets,” Mr Nuwamanya said.
But Gulu District Chairperson also chairman for all LCV chairpersons in Acholi Sub region Mr Martin Mapenduzi said the government has to come out clearly on defining how the community will benefit from the project, how much money was injected and the exact numbers of animals in the ranch.
Mapenduzi asked for explanation from government on the size and boundaries of the ranch saying the land the ranch is claiming is too big.
“There are a lot of suspicions going on because the relationship between management of the farm and the community is sour. We do not expect people carrying guns to be looking after animals, if indeed it’s a government project, Pader district local government should have a stake but unfortunately they are not involved,” added Mapenduzi.
Samuel Oduny, an NRM(Uganda’s ruling political party) leaning Gulu- based political commentator told Acholi Times that Aswa Ranch was established under Obote I. According to Oduny, the ranch comprised of Acholi Ranch and Aswa Ranch. Acholi Ranch belonged to the Uganda Development Corporation, a government company while Aswa Ranch belonged to the Ministry of Agriculture. Both were a source of livestock and animal producs, according to Oduny.
The ranch has over the years been a source of contention between locals living in its environs and Acholi political leaders who say the government could be using the ranch to acquire land from neigbourign the farm that did not originally belong to the farm.
2 Comments
Those are private animals, nothing to do with government what so ever. Our MPs needs to do more research if those are government animals. That Nuwamanya owns a big ranch in Sembabule and part of Masindi
Compulsory Land acquisition for whose benefits. Why are we being robbed left right centre. We lost very large chunks of land under British to Murchison Falls Game Park. According to Wiki -” Between 1907 and 1912, the inhabitants of an area of about 13,000 square kilometres (5,000 sq mi) were evacuated due to sleeping sickness spread by tse-tse flies. In 1910, the Bunyoro Game Reserve was created south of the River Nile. That area roughly corresponds to the part of the MFNP that is in the districts of Buliisa, Masindi, and Kiryandongo”.
In 1928, the boundaries were extended north of the river into the modern-day Nwoya District.[
In 1952, the British administration established the National Parks Act of Uganda. The area described above became Murchison Falls National Park.
Wake up before you surrender all your land to foreigners. Why not set this project in Kasozi or Rwakitura. Travel around the game park anf see any progress that having the game park in Nwoya has delivered to the host communities. Hunting was allowed to help curb the animals during colonial times. I know because Pali Labara Oola saw to it.
Who is destroying the Game Park, TOTAL drilling oil and chasing away elephants while Madhvani fronting for powerful families, profits from the fruit of our land and our animals (if you want to call the animals Uganda’s the escort them to Kampala or ankole). Ask how many locals work in the ranch, Chope and Paraa lodges. Will Axholi be any less developed without Aswa Ranch, the Game Park. Remember lutino Lukwayu wu.