Stories for Blog

Who are these people the president gave land?
David Mafabi
Kween
Almost a camp for displaced people living on a rock, close to Mt Elgon national park in the new Kween district; a mere collection of thatched huts with wooden walls, makeshift shelters, mud, wattle on a rocky hill living deplorable conditions.

Wattle, mud and debris scattered every where, pigs and ragged children is what welcomes you to ‘Rwanda and Kisangani’ camps.

Mr. Lazaru Mwanawoi, 54, of Chelibei village, Kwanyiny sub-county is one of the residents of ‘Kisangani and Rwanda camp’ at Kwanya sub-county in Kween district says they have been staying on top of this rock in make-shift structures for close to about 19 years ever since UWA displaced them from the Mt Elgon national park. 

When Daily Monitor approaches him with the question; Are you Benet? he simply says,  “We are not Benet, the Benet are up in the hills there. For us we are former workers of the Forest department who were laid off and others are former workers of the saw mills. But we need land because we have no where to go," 

Mr. Mwanawoi was telling the truth as I faced him although later he changed his face and said “I don’t know, I have forgotten something,” after he discovered that many of ‘Rwanda and Kisangani’ residents were staring at him.

Mr. Mwanawoi is one of the about 1400 people living on a rock at ‘Rwanda and Kisangani’ whom President Museveni directed the Prime Minister’s office to degazette the London portion on Mt Elgon park to resettle them.

Another resident Mr. Phillip Mataki says that after losing business in the forestry Authority they had no where to go so they rented land at the rock which belongs to Mr. Stanely Cheptoris at Shs. 10,000 per year.

“So we have been staying here, we have nowhere to go. We keep renting land here as we operate small businesses like selling Malwa, a local gin, rearing pigs, chicken, providing casual labour in the park and hunting but one government gives us land, we shall settle outside this rock,” said Mr. Mataki.

President Museveni in his letter to the office of the Prime minister dated 5 February at the height of elections says about 1400 Benet families where displaced from their cradle land during the demarcation of the national park and that they are living on rocks in deplorable conditions in 'Rwanda and Kisangani' in Kween district.

“About 1400 families of the Benet were displaced and are now living on a rock. This is not acceptable. I am therefore directing you to cause concerned ministries to degazette the London portion of the national park so that those families are settled permanently. This London portion is an intrusion of the national park into the settled area. This part should be cut off from the forest so that these families are settled,” reads the letter signed by President Museveni in part.
But who are these people staying on a rock?

The chairman of the displaced Mr. Patrick Satya insists that when government transferred the authority of Mt. Elgon national Park to UWA in 1990/92, UWA then burnt all settlement that had been constructed by the Benet, Yatui and Ndorobo in Kapkwata, evicted them from Kapkwata, their cradle land and rendered them homeless thereby forcing them to construct makeshift shelters on a rock at Rwanda and Kisangani where they are living as squatters on their hitherto own land.

“We had settled and were doing our business at Kapkwata when UWA evicted us and started planting the forest, we lost land and that is the reason why we are living here,” said Mr. Satya.

In a cultural meeting held at Kwanyiny primary school 13 September the LCIII chairman for Kwanyiny Mr Henry Tonni said UWA has been unfair by evicting them from their settlement and farmlands, rendering them homeless without allocating alternative land for settlement and farming.

“When we were evicted, we where about 61 people, the population has since grown to 1400, we are now staying on a rock in deplorable conditions, we need land to survive and UWA despite the president’s directive has refused to give us land, they harass us, arrest us, where do we go?” said Mr Tonni.

Mr William Cheposis, the LCV councilor representing the displaced people in 'Rwanda and Kisangani' told the meeting that UWA has the 1954 colonial, 1983/84, 1990/93 and the 2003/04 boundaries that have confused people for the last 16 years to the extent that many of them believe that boundaries are forged.

He said most of the people at the rock in ‘Kisangani and Rwanda’ are not Benet and that government gave the Benet land under resettlement scheme of 1983 and then in 2009/2010 and later in February 2011.


The Mt Elgon conservation area manager Mr. Adonia Bintorwa says the Benet got land within the park for resettlement in 1983 and recently in 2009/2010 and that the people claiming for settlement are not Benet.

A verification report by Mt Elgon conservation area under UWA comprising of the Benet and Yatui leaders and one of the longest non commissioned officer at Mt Elgon conservation area Mr. Patrick Chebet says the group asking for land comprises of people who are benefiting from Taungya farming system.

Under Taungya farming system, people have been contracted to plant soft wood plantations in the national park, look after it and have been allowed to do gardening of maize,beans and vegetables to grow alongside the trees.

“Some Kenyans [Kikuyu] who formerly worked with Elgon saw mill owned by Mr. Mr. Heron Nganga, former government workers of forest department, Kapkwata saw mill workers owned by an Indian and workers of Sipi international saw mill owned by Dr. Stephen Chebrot have all been enlisted as the displaced yet they are not Benet,” said Mr. Bintorwa.

The report reveals that there are eight two former casual labourers, traders and taungya residents in Kapkwata forest village, 21 former forest workers, 34 former saw mill workers and Mr. Robert Yesho, Mr. Peter Sikoria serving UPDF soldiers, teachers, several Sabiny and Bagisu who own land else where and are claiming to be landless.

A new report:
A new verification report by the Inter-ministerial mission to Mt Elgon National park to make assessment of the possibility of degazetting parts of Mt Elgon to resettle the people living in ‘Kisangani and Rwanda’ near Kapkwata says the people on the rock are not Benet as indicated in President Museveni’s letter.

The report signed by Ms Pemela Komujuni, disaster management officer at the Prime ministers’ office says the people living on the rock were originally workers of the forestry department, saw millers and displaced persons from Ngene sub-county by Karimojong cattle raiders.

“Therefore the proposed London area for degazettement should be halted because it is a key catchment area for rivers Siti, Kere, Kaplegep and other streams as well as two gravitational water schemes, the verification should be carried out to establish the genuine landless people in need of resettlement,” reads the report dated 27 March 2012, copy of which Daily Monitor has seen.

Although the president in his letter suggested that the London portion of the Mt Elgon park be gazette for settlement of these people, the inter-ministerial mission says since the lowe lying areas of Ngenge, Chepsukunya and Greek are now peaceful, government should consider acquiring land in these areas for resettling these people.

The report is signed by Ms Pamela Komujuni [OPM], Mr. John Makombo  director of conservation at UWA, Mr. Domisiano Owor Wildlife officer at ministry of tourim, trade and industry and Mr Julius Mafumbo senior environment officer at the ministry of water and environment.

He said UWA wants the slopes of the mountain to be gazetted as a disaster area after a comprehensive geological study because people have gone past the 1993 boundary up to the cliff close to the bamboo zone which makes it even more dangerous.

UWA reports indicate that massive encroachment at Mt Elgon national park coupled with deforestation, poor farming methods signals an environmental disaster to the entire Eastern Uganda and western parts of Kenya and urges the government to design ways of ending encroachment and degradation of the Mt Elgon in order to save our people from famine, diseases and landslides Ends
Bagisu shun traditional circumcision
David Mafabi
Mbale- At this time of the year the blowing of horns announcing arrival of the annual ritual of circumcision amongst the Bamasaba [Bagisu] is expected to have started in preparation for the 2014 circumcision year.

The Bagisu, those who hail from Bulambuli, Sironko, Bududa, Mbale and Manafwa were usually expected at this time of the year to be performing rituals to’Wele matsakha, Wele Nabulondera, Wele Nabende and wele Mumbi’ their traditional Imballu gods to inspire boys to announce their intentions to be circumcised, visit their relatives in preparation for cicumcision, many of them are not.

A visit in most villages of Bugisu shows that the there is no blowing of horns, many traditionalists who are supposed to be preparing the royal regalia for the 2014 Imballu are now busy looking for fees for their children and tilling land for survival of their families.

Although Mr Paul Masaba, 57, from Mukhubu village in Mutoto sub-county has two children to be circumcised in 2014, he says that rather than go through the tradition of dancing for five days before circumcision, he will circumcise his children with only the family members in the morning.

Mr Masaba is not alone, there are many parents who are planning to either take their children to the hospital for medical circumcision or circumcise them early morning without dancing just to cut down the cost involved in dancing and all preparations.

Mr Cornelius Wekunya, a member of the Lumasaaba language cultural board says Education, poverty, modern medical circumvision due to HIV/ Aids and other problems in homes have made people change the approach to circumcision and that they now view it as a usual thing anybody can take.

Mr Wekunya told Daily Monitor that in the past when Imballu was held in high esteem, the candidates would be trying out on the songs, dancing and perfoming rituals expected but that it is no more as traditional circumcision trend is changing and likely to face extinction.

Although the desire to be circumcised is believed here to be spiritually inspired; where the boys are allegedly influenced by the ancestral spirit of 'Imballu' Mr James Wandende, the cultural leader says usually there is an internal preparation to pay off the Imballu date required of every Mugisu boy but that the trend has changed with young people nolonger attaching a lot of importance to ‘Imballu’.

“Traditional male circumcision [Imballu] played a big role because this was the time of initiation into adulthood for our boys, time to pass on values of society, time to preach discipline and hard work, time to talk about marriage issues and time to build families which cant be done when children go for medical circumcision, when they circumcise early in the mornings with only their parents,” said Mr Wandende.

Many scholars from Bugisu sub-region say the problem of traditional ‘Imballu’  extinction has been often overlooked by many otherwise thoughtful people who shrug it off and regard the cultures and customs extinction as a minor issue that does not require attention since we are moving to the global village.

According to the Lumasaaba Language academy vice chairperson Prof Timothy Wangusa although as Lumasaaba language academy, they have produced some literature for teaching Lumasaaba in primary schools, they have not thought about protecting the customs, cultures and royal regalia for ‘Imballu’ because the change is sweeping across all cultures in the World.

“Imballu culture and other customs’ extinction is real as the result of the ‘evolutionary’ process of globalization. We need to rethink our culture and customs, protect them from extinction for our children to know and appreciate where we came from,” said Prof Wangusa.

According to the minister of culture in the Inzu Ya Masaba Mr John Musira circumcision is now being taken by everyone in the world for medical reasons and can no longer be regarded as something children being born today will look up to as their tradition of their great grand parents.

Mr Musira revealed that although in the past people would not go for medical circumcision for fear of being shunned in society, today Bugisu is likely to see many more people take children for medical circumcision because of poverty and education.

 “Bugisu [Masaba] was the seat of culture besides Imballu there was Isonja, Inemba, ifumbo for the circumcision candidates and all these are disappearing, there was also ‘Shikongo’ that was played for barren to produce, all these are at the verge of extinction. And if you asked a child born ten years ago, they don’t know anything about these completely, and as we continue getting educated, we shun away Imballu, we tend to call it barbaric, we want to go with modernity, we need to do something to store our culture,” said Mr Musira. 

He revealed that today a considerable part of the population, notably the urban or peasant petite bourgeoisie, assimilates the colonizer's mentality, considers itself culturally superior to its own people and looks down upon their cultural values that helped shape them into what they are. Ends

Bududa mudslides take govt unaware despite study
David Mafabi
Bududa -Although Uganda has an elaborate Policy on Disaster Preparedness and Management in place, there is little being done in terms of early warning systems and disaster risk reduction in Mt Elgon sub-region where mudslide have continued to take place.

Although two mudslides in Bumayoko and Bukibokolo sub-counties have taken place in a week [on 23 and 24 September], all these took government and Bududa leaders unaware and there was no early warning to alert victims of the latest landslides.
 
The Minister of state for environment Ms Flavia Munaba while addressing the media 11 September said government completed a comprehensive scientific study of Mt Elgon soils, trees, rocks to ascertain causes of mudslides in the area and that this would make them aware when the mudslides take place, in which places and how. 

“Actually we shall now be able to make people aware when the mudslides take place, which places such that we can evacuate people early enough. What has remained is urbanizing some areas as agreed to resettle the people,” said Ms Munaba.

Although she indicated that the report of study was with the cabinet and office of the prime minister, how it will be utilised rests with all the necessary systems, structures and instruments necessary for its effective implementation and enforcement to be put in place. 

The LCV chairman Mr John Baptist Nambeshe says despite all this the residents have struggled with problems ranging from landslides, a barrage of floods and constant evictions with little help from government and response ministries.

 “This year just like, 2012, just like 2011 and 2010, has been another tough year for the people living around Mt Elgon in Bududa District, we have had a number of mudslides killing people, destroying crops, burying domestic animals amidst reports that government made a study of Mt Elgon and would relocate the people. This has become a myth and yet my people need land to resettle to be safe from mudslides, there is little warning and no defense, they just take us unaware even government,” said Mr Nambeshe. 

He said government said they were to determine the depth of a 40-kilometre crack on the mountain and to provide solutions that would end the mudslides but three years down the road, mudslides still occur in Bududa and kill people.

Situational analysis report for Bududa district for 2013 prepared by the health department says landslide occurrences in this area have affected the livelihood of the communities by destroying their sources of income, causing many fatalities and disease. 

The former LCV chairman Mr Wilson Watira says while Bududa continues to face increasing cases of disasters like floods and landslides in different parts of the district, there is little being done in terms of early warning systems and disaster risk reduction as the disasters still take people and government unaware.

The residents have struggled with problems ranging from constant fights with Uganda Wildlife Authority over land in the park, a health crisis, a barrage of floods and the June 26 mudslide that left 21 people buried in Bumwalukani and Bunamulembwa villages in Bulucheke Sub-county.

Mr Watira who si knowledgeable about Disaster risk reduction and early warning systems, says while landslides are hard to stop, the people of Bududa in the affected areas should be alerted by an early warning system as the rains intensify. 

“This is because the local people will tell you using traditional knowledge about possible landslides in certain places and all landslides in Mount Elgon areas and Bududa in particular have occurred after heavy or light rains and they come around the same time of the year and hit the same places,” said Mr Watira.

Mr Nathan Tsoolobi a farmer said Meteorological departments usually warn the country about heavy rains that are likely to cause mudslides, floods in Mt Elgon sub-region and wondered why government does not use the same to warn people to relocate since prediction in forecast for Mt Elgon region is the first early warning system.

Major General Julius Oketta, the Emergency Coordination and Operation National Coordinator, says the government decided to have landslides victims resettled within Bududa. It had resettled about 3000 people in Kirynadongo following the 2010 landslides, but most of them opted to return Bududa citing cultural and other social differences. Ends

Amudat mothers trek to Kenya to access treatment
David Mafabi
Amudat- Ms Patricia Namohe 38, from Karita sub-county in Amudat is heavily pregnant and is expected to anytime from now.

But unlike other expectant mothers in the country who are close to thehealth services, Amudat is characterized by a set of unfortunate circumstances that have forced expectant mothers to deliver in the hands of traditional birth attendants.

Ms Namohe in order to deliver in the hands of qualified health personnel had to travel about 96 Km to Matany missionary hospital or cross to Kenya at Kacheliba hospital about 21 km away from Amudat.

In Amudat most expectant mothers, the majority of who are young girls under 30 years still do not have access to antenatal care services; walk long distances when going to deliver while others end up dying
due to lack of qualified personnel.

The District Health Officer Dr Patrick Sati says only about 24% of women who give birth in Amudat receive care from trained personnel while the majorities give birth at home or under the supervision of
traditional birth attendants.

Dr Sati the only doctor in Amudat who doubles as the DHO says health facilities especially in rural areas are not easily accessible due to the poor state of the roads, remoteness of the district, under-skilled
workers who are overworked, under-paid and that the situation  is worsened by corruption.

“It is not surprising that the major causes of maternal mortality and morbidity in Amudat include severe bleeding, high blood pressure and obstructed labor because of long distances covered by expectant
mothers in search of better health facilities,” said Dr Sati.

He revealed that lack of a referral hospital in Amudat district is forcing coupled with the persistent rains that have washed away bridges and cut off parts of Karita is forcing expectant mothers in Amudat, sick children and adults trek to Kacheliba in Kenya to get referral treatment for all diseases and deliveries.

The LCV chairman for Amudat Mr William Bwatum says Amudat district has only two health centre IIIs and two health Centre IIs that are ill equipped to provide referral treatment to complicated pregnancy cases, diseases and that given the fact that Karita Heath centre III is about 66 Km away from Amudat and about 21 Km to Kacheliba in Kenya, most patients prefer to get treatment in Kenya.

“It is about 21Km to Kacheliba which is a good hospital, properly equipped and given the nature of our roads that have been washed away by heavy rains patients cant afford to move on foot for a distance of
96Km to get no treatment since we have no ambulance, so most of the patients travel to Kenya to access treatment,” said Mr. Bwatum

While speaking to Daily Monitor 21 August Mr Bwatum revealed that although Amudat district has a population of about 143, 317 people, the health sector is ill equipped to the level that it lacks of
adequate medicine, has inadequate medical staff and the roads are in a bad shape that hinder people from accessing good services in Uganda.

The District Health Inspector Mr Simon Elimu said although they have also two health centre IIs in Cheptaboyo and Alakas, a health sector report and local statistics at the two health Centre IIIs in Loro and Karita reveal that about 74% percent of the expectant mothers in Amudat deliver at home with the assistance of traditional birth attendants.


He said only 26% of the mothers deliver in the health centres with the help of the qualified medical staff and that most of the mothers deliver at home with Traditional Birth Attendants [TBA] while majority
of them who can afford run to Kenya for treatment and delivery.

“Given the remoteness of Amudat district, the deliveries in the government health facilities are still low in the district, only 234 mothers expectant mothers delivered in health facilities under qualified medical staff this right from January 2012 to May 2013 just about 26%, this figure reflects that many expectant mothers about 74% are not utilizing the government health facilities due to distance,
remoteness, lack of sensitization and bad roadnet work,” said Mr. Elimu.

Mr. Bwatum revealed that although with the construction of health IIs and IIIs and recent recruitment, the health department has about 39 of  the established medical staff posts filled with only one Doctor
who doubles as the District Health Officer, “Infact this puts doctor: population ratio is 1:143,317 far above the World Health Organisation standards that recommends the ratio of Doctor to patient ratio as
1:10,000 for Africa.

Mr Bwatum said because of strong traditional ties, most people despise the health education activities at community level and called upon the district leadership not to leave the work to the few health workers in the district alone but to join in the sensitisation of the communities about the importance of delivering in health facilities.

He said whereas there is lack of medical equipments and medicine in the newly constructed health centre IIIs and IIs, there is equally low utilisation of the reproductive health services and prevention of
mother to child transmission of HIV/ Aids which explains the soaring death rates of pregnant mothers and prevalence rates of HIV/ Aids.

Dr Sati said anemia is a common disease in adults and children in the district due to lack of food that is rich in iron adding malaria, diarrhea, whopping cough and HIV/Aids.

He said because the district is arid the residents are unable to access green leafy vegetables that are rich in iron to help prevent the disease.

In Amudat one cannot think about Kenya's ethnic tribes; the Pokot and the Kalenjin without thinking about the district of Amudat, the new district in Uganda. Why? Kenya’s influence on Amudat district is everywhere in the new district, the buildings that are designed and built, the lifestyle, currency used let alone the language spoken.

One clear indication of the connection between these ethnic tribes is the clear pattern of association in the cultures, customs and Language that whenever the sick cross to Kacheliba in Kenya, they are treated
as local Pokot from Kenya and given treatment at any health facility within the sub-region.

Ends

Government should rethink better on patriotism
David Mafabi

In bid to boost up teaching of partriotism, government is also asking for Shs. 3.5 billion in the coming financial year to teach patriotism across the country [Daily Monitor 21 April].

For those who have lived in these times, since 1986, you could have seen Museveni undergo political metamorphosis. As a student, later a revolutionary, Museveni never believed in democracy with all its democratic processes and structures, he was purely a Marxist but now he advances capitalism something he least believed in and has started preaching patriotism.

Although he espoused ideals that represented the interests of the proletariat; comradeship is what they preached and never at any one time did they preach patriotism.

The country thus lost out the opportunity to act together as one to redress the mistakes committed by the former regimes as lack of patriotism, sectarianism and tribalism that ate up the old regimes were adored by the new rulers in masks.

But now 23 years down the road with Marxism buried, many of the bush cadres dead or a spent force, the comradeship spirit dead and confronted with new political and economic realities which are creating a new force of intellectuals opposed to him within the party itself, Museveni has now started grappling with patriotism to attempt to ameliorate the steadily decreasing political support with increasing opposition within the party.

In Mbale Museveni urged the teachers ‘Patriots’ to besides teaching learners about rats, frogs and cockroaches to teach children also about Uganda and patriotism.

Although the teachers were taught as talking points for government; Basic introduction to patriotism, Cadreship and methods of work, Evolution of humans by a team led by Security Minister Amama Mbabazi, many of them could not differentiate Patriotism from ‘NRMism’ as they kept singing;
“No change, fourth term, we shall stand by you in big numbers come 2011”

In as much as I expected the president to speak about patriotism, instill the spirit amongst the teachers, he kept talking about NRM and telling the “patriots” that his long stay in power was in fulfillment of the national demands.

True, we need patriotism; it is a matter that requires urgent national and multiparty consensus in order to put in place the most appropriate topics that would re-initiate patriotism amongst our people but to market our party as we justify our long stay in power and to instill fanatical and vociferous support for the ruling government is wrong. We can do better than this?

When I asked one teacher about patriotism, I was disillusioned to recognise that there are still Ugandans who either think exactly like Museveni about patriotism or have not moved an inch from thinking that good governance and democracy reside in president Museveni and NRM party.

Take it leave it, we are not going to instill patriotism in any Ugandan as long as we call workshops to cover up NRM government failures by pre-occupying ourselves with self-praises and unreasonable, unrealistic condemnation of the past regimes without addressing patriotism itself.

The socio-political reality today is that the ruling government is patronizing over a regime of serious rising impoverishment of Uganda in terms of moral, ethical, social, political, cultural and economic development; should Ugandan burry their heads in sand like the proverbial ostrich for purposes of patriotism? and can patriotism be preached, embraced amidst these vices?

Scholar James Bryce says: “Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance.  It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong”

Unless our conception of patriotism is progressive, is all inclusive without inclination to political affiliation, has the element of humanity with no hatred or bitterness towards anyone, respect for human rights, equal justice before the law, it cannot hope to embody the real affection and the real interest of the nation.

What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility ... a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, one not bent on marketing fourth term and seeing Mr. Museveni as the only man with a vision for Uganda but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.

But when a few teachers ‘now patriots’ selected from the ruling party supporters announce fourth term for president Museveni in the name of patriotism, it is not only unpatriotic and servile, but morally treasonable to all Ugandans of sound mind.

French Phisolosopher Montesquieu remarked: “If I knew something that would serve my country but would harm mankind, I would never reveal it; for I am a citizen of humanity first and by necessity, and a citizen of France second, and only by accident” I think this is where we ought to be.

Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't.  You cannot shirk this and be a man.  To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may but don’t allow them to rob you of respect and dignity by deciding for you your own destiny.

In bid to revive patriotism in Uganda, let us answer the following questions; who should be involved? Find the input of our academic institutions of higher learning? And above all strive to find a comprehensive and well-thought-out input from everyone in Uganda irrespective of his political affiliation, class and sex.
Ends.