The Minister for Security, Hon. Jim Muhwezi, has been directed by Speaker Anita Among to protect residents being illegally evicted by National Forest Authority (NFA) in Kole district.
Among, who chaired the House on Thursday, 14 April 2022, said that the minister needs to ensure that peace prevails in the area.
“There was a Presidential directive which was ensuring that people should not be evicted from such areas. The ministry needs to make sure that people stay in their homes peacefully. Those cases of women being raped must stop,” she said.
Among was responding to a matter of national importance that was raised by the Youth representative for Northern Uganda, Hon. Boniface Okot who was concerned about the unlawful eviction of people in Ilera Parish, Kole district.
Okot noted that with the evictions, livelihoods have been disrupted by the Authority and those citizens have been mistreated.
“The eviction is characterised by torture of the citizen, destruction of crops, houses and animals, they do not have access to water or their farmlands. NFA claims that this land is a land reserve and the residents claim that they have lived on the land for 92 years,” he said.
He added that NFA has not followed the High Court ruling which granted the residents a temporary injunction from eviction.
“In February 22 2022, the ruling in the High Court granted a temporary injunction which was stopping for evicting the residents in the disputed land until the disposal of this case,” he said.
He prayed that the security officials in this area should leave immediately from the disputed area and the inhumane treatment of the residents should henceforth be stopped.