Residents of Apaa parish in Amuru district on Wednesday reportedly rejected relief food items donated by the government, according to residents and political leaders from Amuru district.
The office of the Prime Minister (OPM) donated the relief food to the displaced following deadly clashes over a disputed ownership of a chunk of land along the Amuru- Adjumani border.
The clashes on Wednesday last week left five people dead, more than twenty injured and thousands displaced.
The food items including 50 bags of maize meal (posho) and 460 bags of beans were delivered on Monday this week and kept at a store in Apaa trading centre.
During a meeting held at Apaa trading yesterday, the matter on whether to take the government food or not was put to a vote by show of hands. The majority reportedly said no.
Martina Adong, 70, one of the displaced in Apaa said she needs non-foot items like tarpaulins, saucepans and cups she lost when her hut was set ablaze by suspected attackers from Adjumani district.
Joren Obwona, also a displaced, questioned why the government had ‘‘this time round supported residents of Apaa yet it had not since 2012.’’
Obwona described the food relief as a mockery considering the scale of violence experienced by the survivors, some of whom lost relatives.
Early this week, the Prime Minister Dr Rukunda visited Gulu and Amuru on what he termed a ‘‘fact finding visit’’ on the clashes in Apaa. During his visit Dr Rugunda met the Acholi Paramount chief and political and religious leaders from Gulu and Amuru.
Good news if food is rejected, we will take it to those who need it, says OPM Commissioner
Asked on Wednesday afternoon by Acholi Times if the office of the Prime Minister had received reports that relief food it had donated had been rejected by intended beneficiaries, Martin Owor, the commissioner for disaster said his office had not received any such reports quickly adding that if the food has been rejected then ‘‘it is good news because I will send trucks to collect the food and send to those who need it.’’
Michael Lakony, the Amuru LCV Chairperson who was meant to supervise the distribution of the food said he will respect the ‘‘wish of the people’’ (rejecting the food) and inform the office of the prime minister about the rejection.
Mr Lakony had earlier told Acholi Times that the food items were delivered on the request of leaders from Amuru. How the food got rejected by a people who should be in need is perplexing.
Suspicions about the government runs deep in Apaa. The general feeling is that the government is siding with Adjumani district in the boundary dispute that Amuru has with Adjumani.
Political offices in Amuru from that of the LC5 Chairman to members of parliament is mostly held by the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). So Opposition- government politics is also at play.
Residents of Apaa have meanwhile demanded for improved security and a visit to the area by the Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Ruganda. During his Gulu, Amuru and Adjumani visit, Dr Rugunda did not visit the victims of the clashes in Apaa. But he has promised to visit the area in the near future.
Amuru district and Apaa specifically has been a hot bed of land- related conflicts. At least 470 households, about 21, 000 residents, have been affected by the boundary dispute between Amuru and Adjumani.
4 Comments
Bravo Amur! This relief food could be lased with poison. Besides, the problem is not food but the ancestral land.
The Office of the Prime Minister(OPM) do not understand what deals to offer which could be better for the 21,000 Apaa Residents full of ANGER with NO ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS.Not only that, how did the OPM work the Mathematics of distribution of 50 bags of Maize Grains and 460 bags of beans to 21,000 Adults not their with their Children?
1)The bigger problem is to make the Apaa Residents SAFE First.Not Relief Foods.When will the Voice of Apaa Residents be heard in Parliament of their Instability?
2)One of the main views needed in place is to set up a Commission of Inquiry to make sure the Land dispute and protection Law for Safety of Apaa People is answered taking one side(Adjumani People is extremely dangerous).This is a reckless behavior,it is going to fuel more blood shade.
3)The bottom line is that,those Homeless people in Labala Parish are Not safe in their Homes and their Lives are Insecure unless we learn how to forged Unity with Adjumani People through Investigations to bring the Criminals to books and Justice must be done on both sides.If it doesn’t work,it will be unfortunately back to Severe Economic draw back and the entire blame will be to the NRM treating Apaa Residents Unfairly.
What does the Word Apaa mean in Madi? Did Madi not abduct an Acholi Prince in the ancient times and forcibly make the same their King? I blame the OPM due to Moses Ali a turn coat.
Nodding Disease through food.