National Forest Authority in another land row with the internally displaced people (IDP) living in Omee Upper Camp in Wiceri Central Forest Reserve in Amuru. Armed with spears, pangas, arrows and bows and axes, the IDPs chased away the forestry authority officials, whom they accused of grabbing their land.
The army, the Police and local authorities intervened and quelled the riot. The security team, lead by the officer in charge of the district Police station, Charles Okullu, advised the National Forestry Authority (NFA) officials to suspend the exercise. The IDPs, who placed big logs across the road, vowed to set ablaze the NFA vehicles if they attempted to reach the camp.
Te NFA Ranger Manager Aswa alleged, the authority officials simply wanted to establish the number people living in the reserve and that they were not going to evict anybody now. The manager appealed to people not to look at NFA as land grabbers.
The LC3 chairman of Pabbo sub-county, Christopher Ojera, accused NFA officials of inciting people against the Government. He added that NFA should first sensitise the area
Its few days a go that again National Forest Authority had a similar incident in Western part of the country with Mpanga School. One wonders where Uganda is heading. A year can not elapse without land paddles either between the government and the locals or the locals themselves