{"id":52915,"date":"2023-07-20T11:20:55","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T11:20:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park"},"modified":"2023-07-20T12:49:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T12:49:48","slug":"evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park","title":{"rendered":"Evicted residents vow to reoccupy land in Semuliki Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>The Bamba-Babwisi community in Bundibugyo District have issued a strong declaration, vowing to forcefully reoccupy their ancestral land within Semuliki National Park, 40 years after they were evicted.<\/p>\n

The community, consisting of more than 10 clans, claim ownership of a seven-square-mile area that was turned into a game reserve during colonial times and later designated as a national park in 1993 by the government.<\/p>\n

The clans, under the Matongo Lost Land Recovery Families\u2019 Group (MLLRFG), were evicted in 1983 during President Milton Obote II\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

More than 3,000 households, representing clans such as Bahanda, Bahombi, Babomboli, Batogho, Babandi, Bandikiteganwa, Bandikulya, Babukulu, Mandimagwara, and Bandimugumo, have been seeking compensation and resettlement from the government since 2010 in vain.<\/p>\n

The chairperson of the Matongo Lost Land Recovery Families\u2019 Group, Mr Cornelius Bakecura, expressed the community\u2019s plight, stating that they have been unable to afford legal fees to pursue their case in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe communities that have hosted us since our eviction, are now turning against us due to population increase on their land,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Bakecura also highlighted injustice, citing instances where similar land issues elsewhere have been resolved.<\/p>\n

Mr Gorge Ngilesi, a claimant, revealed that the remains of his relatives still lie within Semuliki National Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they can\u2019t allow us to go back to our ancestral land, let them allow us to go back and exhume remains of our relatives and show us where to rebury them,\u201d Mr Ngilesi said.<\/p>\n

The Bundibugyo District chairperson, Mr Robert Tibakunirwa, emphasised the urgency of the Matongo land issue and urged the government to take action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want the government to either de-gazette the park or let them resettle on their ancestral land or compensate them so that they can go and look for alternative land where to settle for their livelihoods,\u201d Mr Tibakunirwa said.<\/p>\n

In response, the Bundibugyo deputy resident district commissioner, Mr Umar Muhanguzi, acknowledged the community\u2019s suffering, adding that the government was aware of the issue.<\/p>\n

He called for patience while awaiting a response from the authorities.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. The Bamba-Babwisi community in Bundibugyo District have issued a strong declaration, vowing to forcefully reoccupy their ancestral land within Semuliki National Park, 40 years after they were evicted. The community, consisting of more than 10 clans, claim ownership of a seven-square-mile area that was turned into a game reserve during colonial times […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":52913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-52915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nEvicted residents vow to reoccupy land in Semuliki Park - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Bamba-Babwisi community in Bundibugyo District have issued a strong declaration, vowing to forcefully reoccupy their ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Evicted residents vow to reoccupy land in Semuliki Park\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Bamba-Babwisi community in Bundibugyo District have issued a strong declaration, vowing to forcefully reoccupy their ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-20T11:20:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-20T12:49:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/07\/sm_1689841082.48686.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Evicted residents vow to reoccupy land in Semuliki Park\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-20T11:20:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-20T12:49:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park\"},\"wordCount\":356,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2023\/07\/sm_1689841082.48686.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/evicted-residents-vow-to-reoccupy-land-in-semuliki-park\",\"name\":\"Evicted residents vow to reoccupy land in Semuliki Park - 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