By Blessing Kahumuzah Agnetta
The relationship between the Balaalo and other communities in Uganda, particularly agricultural communities has for some time been a topic of discussion and debate.
This is due to conflicts that have arisen over land use and resource allocation, as both pastoralists and native-owner agriculturalists rely on land for their livelihoods. Efforts have been made to find solutions to these conflicts and promote peaceful coexistence between different communities in Uganda.
The Acholi sub-region is made up of eight districts, namely Amuru, Nwoya, Gulu, OmoroPader, Agago, Lamwo and Kitgum. It has a total land area of about 28, 278 square kilometres.
The Balaalo are a pastoralist community who have been said to come from one of three places; Rwanda, Tanzania and Ankole. They began migrating to the Acholi sub-region in 2017 but the region saw an influx of their numbers in 2021 during the Covid-19 period.
In a recent interview with the Kilak South Member of Parliament Gilbert Olanya, the legislator outlined a number of reasons the people of the Acholi sub-region want the Balaalo to leave their land.
Firstly they are acquiring customary land through conniving with a few individuals in the Acholi sub-region and security personnel. This is not right because customary land cannot be sold unless the clan sits and agrees to sell part of the land.
The animals of the Balaalo are moving freely in Acholi land but that is not the same case for an Acholi if they bought animals from across Karuma.
The animals of the Acholi cannot move freely and take a long time to get cleared but that is not the case for the animals that belong to the Balaalo that have the added advantage of being escorted by security personnel.
Finally, the Balaalo are well-armed and this is a security threat to the area. According to Hon. Olanya when there is an incident and the Balaalo’s animals destroy someone's crops, they would pick whatever amount of money and bring to pay for the damages.
If the aggrieved party refused the payment they would pull guns on them and assure them of how they could easily bring them harm.
The President on November 5th 2023 issued a directive instructing all Balaalo to vacate the Acholi sub-region in three weeks.
