Nwoya, Omoro voters demand solution to human-wildlife conflict

By Mary Karugaba, Nelson Kiva, Edward Anyoli and Johnisani Ocakacon

CITIZENS’ MANIFESTO

As part of government efforts to take services nearer to the people, Nwoya and Omoro districts were created in 2010 and 2015, respectively, after Parliament endorsed the split of Amuru and Gulu districts.

One of the key resources that Acholi?Nwoya has is the Murchison Falls National Park, which the district shares with districts in Bunyoro sub-region including Kiryandongo, Masindi and Buliisa.

The park — with a variety of animals such as elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo and antelopes — covers about 30% of Nwoya district. Nwoya is bordered by Omoro and Oyam districts to the east, Kiryandongo and Bullisa (south), Pakwach (west) and Amuru (north).

Human-wildlife conflict  

Despite the national park being a key source of revenue for the district, the local authorities and voters say the marauding elephants and buffalo have caused more harm than good to the communities around.

“I have witnessed elephants crossing from the park and destroying crops. Some people have been killed, and farmers now fear working in their gardens,” Denis Okema, a resident of Paduny ward in Anaka town council, said.

Calling on the Government to fast-track the fencing of the national park, Nwoya political and civil administrators say the wild animals are devastating human life and destroying crops.

On Friday, Emmanuel Orach, the Nwoya LC5 chairperson, said he had attended the burial of Doreen Akumu, a mother of seven, and Scovia Ayiyorwoth, who were killed by elephants in Obira village.

About 13 people, Orach said, have been killed by elephants since October 2023 and acres of crops have been destroyed. “I am here to commensurate with the bereaved families.

The two women were killed by elephants when they had gone to collect firewood. Akumu left behind seven children. Their father died earlier. The children are now being taken care of by a 22-year-old. Ayiyorwoth had other hildren and left behind a nine-month-old baby. It is very sad,” Orach said.

The Government, Orach said, has so far fenced off 54km and the district has received funds for fencing off more 10km, leaving a balance of 64km.

Community compensation  

As part of compensating the families of the victims, the Nwoya political head said the district council passed a resolution that 50% of the revenue from the national park goes towards the education of the children of the affected families.

Last year, the Uganda Wildlife Authority handed out over sh3b to six districts surrounding the national park for revenue sharing.

Orach said their money went into empowering the communities surrounding the national park, given their role in the conservation efforts. His district received sh715m. The Nwoya resident district commissioner, Christopher Omara, said fencing was the only way out of the human-wildlife conflict.

“We need to fast-track the fencing of the remaining area and stop this once and for all. People have lost lives and crops have been destroyed. Let’s increase the budget and resolve this matter,” Omara said.

However, the national leaders hailing from the sub-region — including state minister for northern Uganda Kenneth Omona and Nwoya East MP Geofrey Charles Okello — said the problem is not only affecting Nwoya but also other neighbouring districts.

Okello was particular in his remarks that the district requires sh6.9b to complete the fencing off of the area.

“I have raised this matter in Parliament over and over again. The parliamentary committee on tourism carried out an investigation and made recommendations. I am happy that a number of kilometres of the area are being fenced off,” Okello said.

Corruption in compensation process 

He also said a statutory instrument was passed, regulating the compensation of the victims although the process has been riddled with corruption.

“The compensation has become so slow, you have to bribe almost everybody and as a result, many people have missed out. The elephants come, destroy farmers’ crops and they have nowhere to go. As a result, there is food shortage everywhere,” Okello said.

The voters and local authorities in both districts are currently scrutinising the manifestos of all the eight presidential candidates as they (locals) seek solutions to issues not limited to the human-wildlife conflict.

Voters’ concerns 

The other issues are health, education, roads and transport, agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, employment, poverty and power/energy, land management, domestic violence, environment, leadership, traditional, religious, media and sports.

What people say 

Vicky Adokorach, retired veteran and farmer: Patients walk long distances to Anaka General Hospital because many sub-counties have no health centres. Even where facilities exist, there are often no drugs, forcing patients to buy from private clinics.

Florence Amito, resident of Pangora in Anaka Town Council: Drugs in government hospitals run out within a week due to the large number of patients. Most health centres lack specialist doctors and essential equipment.

Justine Odongo Ajaji, LC3 chairperson of Kochi LII Sub-County: Our children are forced to study far from home in Anaka or Gulu. The Government should take over the community schools and establish seed secondary schools in every sub-county.

Mary Adokorach, NRM district chairperson of Nwoya: The Government should urgently erect an electric fence around Murchison Falls National Park to stop animals from invading communities.

Patrick Okello Oryema, former Nwoya LC5 chairperson: When roads are improved, farmers will easily take their produce to markets.

Jacob Ojok, councillor for Purongo Town Council: Some rivers lack bridges, making health centres, markets and schools inaccessible during rainy seasons.

Lilly Adong, former Woman MP of Nwoya: Some areas in Nwoya lack health centres.

Manifesto 

The above issues are also reflected in the New Vision Citizens’ Manifesto conducted between March and May this year, where they highlighted the key bottlenecks undermining service delivery in sectors including healthcare, roads infrastructure, water and sanitation, poverty, unemployment, power connectivity, education, agricultural services, land management, crimes and leadership.

For example, about 79% of the respondents in Omoro district said there were challenges to solve in the education sector, while about 89% cited the pending issues that needed redress in roads/ infrastructure and agriculture.

To ensure a national outlook, the Vision Group’s Citizens’ Manifesto and survey involved 6,006 respondents from 58 districts across the 17 sub-regions. The respondents were randomly sampled from both rural and urban setups.

The NRM presidential flag-bearer, Yoweri Museveni, is concluding his West Nile campaigns today (Monday) in Adjumani district. He will launch his re-election bid in the Acholi sub-region, with an initial campaign rally in Amuru ahead of the Nwoya-Omoro campaign that is scheduled for tomorrow.

“When it rains, the roads — especially in the villages — become pathetic. It’s unfortunate yet Nwoya is one of the oil districts in the country. It has not benefited much from the oil infrastructure development. All the roads have gone to Hoima city,” one of the voters in Nwoya said.

The voters in both districts have also reminded the President of the unfilled pledges which cut across sectors.

“Many presidential pledges, such as electricity, the petroleum institute, roads from Katikati to Kona-Nwoya joining Juba road to Arua road have remained on the pledge list,” one of the district leaders in Nwoya said.

Government Achievements 

Challenges notwithstanding, Nwoya and Omoro local governments are ambitiously pursuing prosperity of their people in line with the national development priorities anchored in the National Development Plan IV and Vision 2040.

“We want, as a district, to recognise the gains realised from 2021 to date, and as a district we want to recognise the stability ushered in by the NRM Government that has enabled our people to live in peace and work for progress,” Douglas Peter Okello Okao, the Omoro LC5 chairperson, said.

Okao is grateful that through the social-economic programmes such as the Parish Development Model, Emyooga, Operation Wealth Creation, Youth Livelihood Programme, the Uganda Women Empowerment Programme, household incomes are being revolutionised. Nwoya leaders say a number of health centres and schools have been constructed.

What experts say

Walter Odokorwot, the chief executive officer of Umoja Conservation, said Nwoya, Omoro and the Greater Acholi sub-region hold significant potential in agriculture and tourism, despite many of the communities remaining trapped in poverty.

He calls for meaningful engagement with local leaders and the implementation of targeted development tourism programmes to bring in a lot of foreign exchange to Uganda to help improve livelihoods.

“Nwoya has great potential for tourism because of its strategic location within the wildlife corridor. However, the persistent human-wildlife conflict needs urgent attention. There has been very limited government support for those engaged in conservation, yet this sector contributes significantly to Uganda’s foreign exchange earnings,” Odokorwot said.

Godfrey Odoki, the general secretary of Murchison Aswa Falls Conservancy, said high unemployment levels have contributed to the increased poaching in Nwoya district. He said many young people turn to illegal hunting as a means of survival due to a lack of alternative livelihood opportunities.

“The issue of poaching can be resolved if the Government invests in training young people as drivers, tour guides and hotel staff. This will not only give them decent employment, but also help protect wildlife. We urge the Government to establish vocational institutes to equip the youth with such skills,” Odoki said.