The President of the Democratic Party, Norbert Mao says President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s move on evicting the balalo herdsmen from Northern Uganda is not the solution to land conflict.
Last year Museveni ordered the eviction of the balalo herdsmen who are non-natives of the Acholi Sub Region from Northern Uganda.
Museveni ordered the balalo herdsmen to fence off their lands, stop encroachment on lands and sign lease agreements or face forceful eviction. However, Mao says these are not solutions to the Acholi problems because the Acholi people are vulnerable.
He explains that the balalo herdsmen, based on the President’s order will instead take advantage of the desperate Acholi people and buy off their lands leaving the natives dispossessed.
He noted that the best approach to solving the problems of the balalo herdsmen in the Acholi Sub-region is by addressing the vulnerability and poverty among the people of Acholi.
