Older widows in Alebtong District are struggling to survive in the midst of extreme poverty. These vulnerable women lost their husbands to conflict-related illnesses and their livelihoods to the effects of climate change. Sadly, they are now left to care for their orphaned grandchildren.
The situation is dire, with several relying on subsistence farming to make ends meet. Nonetheless, with the right support, these women can break the cycle of poverty and provide a better future for themselves and their families, as Bill Oketch reports.
When her husband died in 2017, Terisanta Okii’s life turned upside down. The 80-year-old widow resides in Anang Village, Alebtong Parish, Aloi Sub-county, Alebtong District. She does not have a steady income and struggles to care for her three grandchildren. Despite her difficult circumstances, Okii is resilient.
Every day, her family feeds on pumpkin leaves that she picks from her small garden. She cooks the leaves over an open fire. ‘I have one torn blanket that was donated to me by a neighbour’s daughter, seven years ago. My grandchildren sleep on a mat and cover themselves with two bedsheets. We only have two plastic cups and seven plates,’ she says.
The family lives in two dilapidated grass-thatched huts standing on a small piece of land. They are proud to call it home. ‘I make clay pots which I sell to make ends meet. A small pot is sold at Shs500, while a large one goes for Shs1,000. However, I am sickly nowadays and cannot go to the quarry to pick clay,’ the widow says.
Okii’s 16-year-old grandchild got pregnant when she was in Primary Five. Today, her daughter is 16 months old. More often than not, the family goes to bed on empty stomachs. Okii finds comfort in her faith, praying every day for a better life.
She is not alone in her struggles. There are more than 400 widows in the district who are facing similar challenges, according to data from New Jerusalem Christian Church.
Pamela Acen, 70, from Apado Village, lost her husband in 2024. Soon after his burial, her in-laws reportedly grabbed five of the eight gardens her husband had left her.
‘With only three gardens left, my biggest struggle now is paying school fees. My son is in Senior One. I can only contribute food to pay for the school dues. So, I gave the school 25 kilogrammes of beans and 30 kilogrammes of maize,’ she explains.
Another son sat his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2022 but had to drop out of school because there was no money to further his education. Janet Akao, a resident of Epale Cell in Alebtong Town, shares a similar story.
Widowed since 2001, the 70-year-old woman is not only caring for her children but also the children of her mentally ill daughter.
‘We eat one meal a day. When I fail to get food, we go to bed on empty stomachs. The only joy is that the children do not complain because they know what we are going through,’ she says.
The young widows have not spared either. Grace Adong, 32, lost her husband in 2018. Now bedridden, she cannot provide for her three children. Janet Akello, 40, from Alekodio Village, has been raising her two children alone since her husband died in a road crash in 2002.
One son is studying at Gulu University on government sponsorship, but she struggles to pay school fees for her daughter, who is in Senior Three. Other widows, like Mildred Ekit of Oumo Village, are caring for orphans left behind by relatives.
‘I only have one acre of land. We need support to start small projects like poultry farming or goat rearing so that we can properly care for these children,’ she says.
The situation is made worse by poverty, poor farming skills, and climate change. Rev Boniface Ongora, the overseer of New Jerusalem Christian Church, says several children in northern Uganda have been orphaned by HIV/Aifs and are left with poor grandparents.
‘Some of these children end up being homeless and are forced to live on the streets. Income-generating activities such as poultry farming and goat rearing are some of the options that can generate income for the widows. These activities do not require large tracts of land,’ he says.
David Kennedy Odongo, the LC5 chairperson of Alebtong District and the leader of the Lango LC5 Chairpersons and Mayors Association, says there is no specific government programme that targets the social development of widows and orphans.
No access to land
Joan Awor, a 59-year-old widow from Telela Parish, Ayer Sub-county in Kole District, says land grabbing is one of the prominent challenges women face when they lose their spouses.
‘After the death of my husband in 2005, my father-in-law chased me off the family land, claiming that I was misusing it. I have five children to take care of,’ she says.
A 2024 survey conducted by Redeem International in Lira, Kole, and Oyam districts shows that 15.6 percent of the women widowed in 2022 in these districts were victims of land grabbing within the first year of widowhood.
Thirty percent of these victimised widows lost some or all of their land. The data further reveals that land grabbing affects all communities with no meaningful difference between rural and urban areas of these districts. Susan Abua, another widow from Pida Number III Village, also in Ayer Sub-county, says the issues that affect widows cut across the Lango Sub-region.
‘As much as the government abolished widow inheritance, it remains a silent scourge in the region. When a young widow enters a relationship with a man from another clan, she will face backlash from her husband’s relatives, who think the new man is coming to take away their land,’ she says.
The 50-year-old widow adds that even if a woman does not remarry, if she thrives, her success is not welcomed in her husband’s family. ‘They keep wondering why the widow cannot take on a man from her husband’s clan,’ she says.
Jane Achola, a community liaison officer at Redeem International Lira Field Office, says widows face several challenges in accessing justice. This is because most of them are neither empowered nor educated.
‘The other thing is that clan leaders and members look at widows as a threat. When your husband is alive, you are ‘their wife.’ But the moment your husband dies, they think you will carry away their customary land,’ she explains.
Achola adds that when disputes arise over the land, the man’s relatives label his widow as a witch.
‘For all the years her husband was alive, they never called her a witch. They only do it now that he is dead. Clan members implicate the widow so that the community can rise against her and evict her. Once the widow is gone, the land is left to whoever has an interest in it,’ she notes.
Leaders speak out
Benson Walter Dilla, the LC5 chairperson for Oyam District, explains that when a man brings a wife to his home, his father apportions him part of the customary land. That portion of land legally belongs to the couple.
‘Therefore, in a situation where the husband dies, the ownership of the land will return to the father. The widow and her children legally own the land because it was already entrusted to the couple in the early days of their marriage. Even if the couple does not have children, all property acquired during the marriage belongs to the widow,’ he says.
Moses Ajuk, the community development officer of Ayer Sub-county, confirms that widows face several injustices, economic woes, and societal stigma. ‘Some of these community challenges come specifically to my office. We have a system that tries to address the problems, but when we fail, we forward them to the LC3 Court,’ he says.
Francis Ocira, the programme manager at Redeem International Lira Field Office, says the non-profit organisation is partnering with law enforcement agencies to prevent violence and exploitation against widows and orphans.
‘In August, we trained clan leaders in Oyam District on the Succession Act, 2022, and the land laws as part of the efforts to promote fairness and equality in land management. This initiative aims to address the long-standing issue of unfair land distribution, which has disproportionately affected mainly widows and orphans,’ he says.
Since succession laws are not clearly understood or enforced, concerns have arisen that several clan leaders in Lango have been exploiting these loopholes, leading to mismanagement or the unfair distribution of land.
Data from the Lira City-based North Kyoga Regional Police headquarters indicates that Lango is the new hotbed of land conflict. For instance, the police tallied at least 92 murder cases from the region between January and May in 2021.
The vast majority of the murders were occasioned by land disputes, with shooting, poisoning, strangulation, and the use of blunt objects commonplace.
Why economic empowerment matters
Economic empowerment can be a game-changer for older widows. By providing them with the skills and resources they need to generate income and, as a result, increase their food security.
By generating income, older widows can afford to buy food and other essential items for their families, improve their health, educate their grandchildren, and build resilience to better cope with the shocks and stresses of life.
Data
A 2024 survey conducted by Redeem International in Lira, Kole, and Oyam districts shows that 15.6 percent of the women widowed in 2022 in these districts were victims of land grabbing within the first year of widowhood. Thirty percent of these victimised widows lost some or all of their land.
The data further reveals that land grabbing affects all communities with no meaningful difference between rural and urban areas of these districts.