allAfrica.com * UPDF General Survives Lynching Over Land The Monitor (Kampala) NEWS 18 June 2008 Posted to the web 18 June 2008 By Patience Aber and Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa Amuru A senior army officer and a clan chief were almost lynched on Monday as they tried to formalise the soldier's controversial acquisition of 10,000 hectares of land in the northern district of Amuru. Armed with clubs, tree branches, axes, machetes and stones, the angry mob attempted to lynch Maj. Gen. Julius Oketta, who represents the army in the 8th Parliament and Mr Martin Otienga Otoo, the chief of Lamogi clan. Rwot Otienga had accompanied Gen. Oketta to a land application hearing at Lwak- Obito village in Amuru Sub-county. Residents, who accused the Rwot of fraudulently selling off their land to the general, rejected the application by Gen. Oketta to acquire the land under freehold tenure. The Lamogi clan of Acholi reportedly owns the land communally, according to elders in the area. But the land is said to be subdivided among four sub-clans that make up Lamogi. Mr Jack Weleya Obalim, the chief of another clan called Panyuka clan, said his colleague, Mr Otienga, gave out the land without consulting other clan heads. "We strongly object to the application made by the Major General seeking freehold land ownership. Freehold is a new phenomenon we don't understand," Rwot Obalim said. "Our forefathers lived on this land. We have lived on it and even our children and grandchildren will also live on this land." Ms Harriet Aber, a resident, said. "From today onwards we have disowned Otienga. We cannot trust him any more. He has betrayed us; what kind of a chief is he when he loves money like a hyena? He wants to sell off all our land." What was supposed to be an application hearing momentarily turned into a fracas as leaders traded accusations for close to four hours. Six people including four clan chiefs also submitted their letters of objection to Amuru Sub-county officials insisting that the land belongs to the clan. The region which has just recovered from a two-decade insurgency by the Lords Resistance Army rebels is currently the scene of land wrangles because the majority of the people had been pushed into camps. Gen. Oketta said the rejection of his application to acquire land in the area was "politically motivated". "I can't comment on this matter. This is local politics...," he said before driving off. He was escorted by four soldiers. Gen. Oketta reportedly acquired the contested land that stretches to about 10 square miles in 1997. Early this year, the government directed Amuru leaders to regularise the ownership of 10, 000 hectares of land in the district in Gen. Oketta's name for onward transfer to a foreign firm that would build a sugar factory. Politicians from the northern region have variously threatened to fight anyone planning to acquire land in the area. Lands Minister Omara Atubo in a January 7 letter asked Amuru District Land Board Chairman Alex Okwonga to expedite the process of issuing a certificate of title of the vast land in Omee (Amuru district) to Gen. Oketta. "Maj. Gen. Julius Oketta has approached the [Lands] ministry to expedite the issuance of Certificate of Title on the land to enable the implementation of the (sugarcane) project without undue delay," Mr Atubo said in the letter said. He added: "Treat the application (of Maj. Gen. Oketta) as a special case and proceed with the inspection and consideration for the allocation (of the 10, 000Ha) in the absence of the land committees." Daily Monitor learnt yesterday that the newly created Amuru District in war-ravaged Acholi is just beginning to constitute a district land committee to handle approval of certificates of title and preside over land matters. Mr Atubo asked Mr Okwonga to use his discretion and ensure the land is available "to be used for [a] sugar industry..." The Lamogi clan is known for being notorious basing on history that they rebelled against the British colonialists as they tried to colonise the Acholi region. Rwot Otienga maintains that Gen. Oketta acquired the land from four landlords but when the community put him to task to mention the names of the landlords, he could not give one. The angry mob walked for over six kilometres hurling insults at the general, Rwot Otienga and Mr Martin Lwok Okot, who chairs a local land committee. Mr Okot is accused of ignoring the interests of the residents. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2008 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quantcast