The promotion and creation of new districts in Uganda is transforming the manner in which communities view themselves and fueling land conflicts in the country. 

Communities that used to live side by side are now so bitterly opposed to one another because of the district line that has been created. 

A case in point has been the breakdown of Kilak and Nwoya counties from Gulu district to form Amuru and Nwoya district respectively.  Also the new districts of Agago and Abim are caught up in a boundary dispute. The other is Lamwo, where all the sub counties have land related disputes with the highest number of cases recorded in Paluga Sub County. 

Next week MPs from the Public Service and Local Government Committee will set out on a fact finding mission into the creation of these new districts. 

According to local leaders in Kitgum, Lamwo, Gulu, and Pader, the committee will discover that land conflicts present a real threat to post conflict recovery in the north and many would not support the creation of any more districts. 

They say that the creation of new districts posseses the biggest threat to peace and will affect efforts towards recovery. 

Many of the newly created districts do not have the human and financial assets to kick start development; instead, they exert more pressure on the mother districts. 

Many locals have decried that the creation of the new districts with many administrative units does not translate into improved access and provision of social services.

One elder who spoke to Acholi Times on conditions of anonymity said, “this creation of new districts is just a political question of divide and rule, designed to reward movement cadres and create an empire of loyal electorates. Instead, efforts should be directed towards ensuring the adequacy of the existing institutions to improve service delivery.”